Pokemon Whisperer
by imaginair
Summary: Ivory is a Pokémon Whisperer who just wants to know what it feels like to go on a Pokémon journey like her big brother and his friends. She sets off on her journey with her closest friend, a Shinx named Nightstar, and goes on an adventure where she meets old friends and makes new enemies. An AU based on the characters and story of Black/White games. Also ferriswheelshipping
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**A/N: This is based on my favorite Pokémon games Black and White. I just find the characters really interesting, especially the characters like N. I found the idea of liberating Pokémon as a premise for an evil organization. I honestly think Team Plasma could have made an interesting case if they weren't completely evil. I also took some ideas from the anime and the movies. **

**I hope you enjoy this and if not… well that's okay too! Also I don't own Pokémon!**

The sun gleamed brightly through the window and gently descended onto my pillow… right where my head and eyes were. Great. It was the beginning of May, the end of school and for once I would like to attempt to sleep in. Normally I'm a morning person and I would have probably already been dressed by now, but I believe there is some unspoken rule that on the first day of summer vacation all teenagers should sleep in. Suddenly I hear a crash from across the hall which causes Nightstar, my Shinx that I got from my Grandpa after his business trip in Sinnoh, to accidently send a bolt electricity through the air which effectively electrifies me.

"Eek!" I yelled as Nightstar instantly comes up to me and nuzzled me apologetically. I rub the Shinx's soft fur, laugh and said, "Well I guess that's one way to embrace the summer." Again, another loud crash is heard in the room across the hall. What on earth could my brother possibly be up to this time in the morning? I may be a morning person, but Hilbert was certainly a night person and he would often stay up long into the night hanging out with his friends or even just playing video games. I pushed myself out of bed and I tie my thick brown hair into its usual ponytail before I make my way over to Hilbert's room.

Nightstar immediately jumped off the bed and followed me over to my brother's room. Nightstar comes with me everywhere which makes sense seeing as we are bonded to each other ever since we were both young. I can hardly remember a time without Nightstar and I couldn't imagine life without him. As I knock on the door, I can hear muffled rummaging and curses from Hilbert. What on earth was he doing? When he doesn't respond, I merely pushed the door open to reveal a trashed room with an eighteen-year-old boy in sweats and a t-shirt tearing through his closet.

"Um… what are you doing? You do realize that it's like six in the morning and that it's the beginning of summer vacation, right?"

"For you maybe," the hunched over figure grunts as he pulls out a box of old momentous dad had given him over the years, "but for me it's going to be the start of my Pokémon journey, and I've got to be prepared! Graduation is today and we'll be getting our Pokémon! Now have you seen my hat that dad gave me? I've been looking all over for it."

That's right, Hilbert is graduating from high school today and with that he begins his Pokémon journey like a lot of the other graduating students. I understand why Hilbert is so nervous, but honestly why does he have to get up this early when the ceremony isn't even until later this afternoon. "Um Hilbert," I interjected as I saw Hilbert start to throw his clothes on the floor "don't you remember that you left your hat, your backpack, and your x-transceiver downstairs on the kitchen table last night just so you could avoid situations like, oh I don't know, this one."

Immediately Hilbert starts to blush as he mutters "Oh that's right." I've never seen Hilbert this nervous. A nervous Hilbert is an oblivious and clueless Hilbert which is so different that his usual confident and almost cocky demeanor. Hilbert's always been the one with a ton of friends, super involved in school, and always off on an adventure. Needless to say, Hilbert was super popular in school and almost everyone loved the kid. School wouldn't be the same without my hotheaded brother around to rile everyone up or get them excited for pep rallies, but maybe that would be okay. Maybe it would mean that it would be my time to shine. I wasn't unpopular and I had a nice group of friends, especially Cheren and Bianca, but they were graduating this year and I would only be going into my Sophomore year. Maybe this year I could break my quiet bubble and become something more than just the "Pokémon Whisperer" or my personal favorite "Hilbert's kid sister." Maybe next school year people would see me for me and not just a title.

"Anyway," I say to break the awkward silence, "I know you're going to be a great Pokémon trainer, you'll beat Alder and all the league, then you'll beat all the other league's in the region, and then you'll capture Arceus and all the other legendary Pokémon and basically become God."

"Why thank you, dear sister for having such great expectations for me," Hilbert said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes "I always knew that you understood my destiny to become the very best like no one ever was."

We both laughed and finally I said, "But seriously are you going to choose Oshawatt as your starter Pokémon?"

"Of course! You know that water types are great, and I think the little guys are cute!"

"Hmm… I guess I always took you for more of a fire-type kind of guy. You know you can be really fiery and hotheaded at times. Not to mention the fact that your name means 'battle.'"

At this remark, my brother again rolled his eyes before saying "Whatever Ivory. Despite your slandering of my name and personality, I do want to actually beat the league and I won't be able to do that if I don't choose my starter Pokémon carefully. You know that water types are a really good choice and that they are the easiest to train. Plus, you only get six Pokémon so…" He paused after saying this before tacking on "Oh wait you probably don't know about that, or very much about gym battles in general do you."

I smiled and shook my head "Of course not dummy. Pokémon whispers aren't allowed to compete, which is fine by me. So, I was wondering, are you planning on becoming the new Unovan champion like Cheren or what?"

"Don't be silly Ivory, of course not. I just want to beat Alder, not take his place. If I did become Champion that would mean I would have to go to a University and study politics all the while training my Pokémon to be even stronger," Hilbert visibly shuddered after saying this, "Besides I would hate all that responsibility. Everyone knows that along with being the Region's primary defense, the league officials are basically the most important part of the government. Most people would go as far to say that the Champion is more powerful than the President. Like I said, way too much responsibility and worry for me. Cheren can have the position all he wants in my opinion."

"Well if being Champion is not what you want, what do you want? Are you more like Bianca? She told me she doesn't really know what she wants to do so she's applying for an exploratory Pokémon journey so she can find out what field's she's interested in."

"I know. Bianca already told me about that. She's going to be lame like the majority of the Region are when it comes to Pokémon journeys."

"Hey! I'm sure it's not that lame," but it was true that the most Pokémon trainers went on exploratory journeys rather than the hard core and glorified "Master" journey. The exploratory journey made competing in the league and gyms optional, although it was still highly encouraged so that the young trainers could get some experience and become stronger, and at the same time it allowed trainers to see all the different fields of work and study involving Pokémon such as breeding, being a Pokémon Professor, or even musical performances. It even offered more political and dangerous opportunities like the Police force that used specialized methods of battle or Pokémon equal rights activists like Team Plasma. The biggest appeal though was that it offered a safe and supervised journey throughout Unova where kids could see all the sights and learn stuff about Pokémon at the same time. This is the main reason so many parents try to pressure kids to go on exploratory journeys. Other journeys were usually more specialized like the Police Academy track where kids would battle gym leaders and learn special tactics for battle so that they could actually fight criminals who would inevitably break league rules like only using one Pokémon for battle or only using a set number of potions and revives.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyone could do an exploratory journey if they have a car," Hilbert interjected, interrupting my thoughts, "I want to go on the Master journey and actually become a good Pokémon trainer. My goal, sis, is to become a Pokémon Master!"

I stared at him for a moment. Becoming a Pokémon Master was extremely difficult. It took years and years of training to even reach that status and even then, you would still have to work hard to keep learning and becoming better. Not to mention that a lot of people died on Master journeys. Wild Pokémon could be fairly vicious and at one point in time they were considered humanities greatest threat. One of the reasons Pokémon journeys were so highly encouraged was so that people could defend themselves in the case that a wild Pokémon did attack. "Well okay then. Just don't go and die on me while you're out there."

"Don't worry! Besides if I ever run into a tight spot, I'll be sure to call you to come rescue me."

"Yeah. I can see that working out now. You're on Victory Road and I'm here in Nuvema and you call me on my xtransciever: 'Hey Ivory I'm being attacked by Zweilous come help me out here' and then I'll tell you 'Sorry Hilbert, but it's physically impossible to go all the way out there and save you.'"

"Well by the time I get to Victory Road I hope I'm strong enough to defeat a Zweilous without the help of a Whisperer."

"Good. Maybe then you'll be able to go into Discordian Wood without me," I said cheekily.

Hilbert sticks his tongue out at me and walks past me to leave his messy room. "Maybe I'll run into your three imaginary friends in there and gossip about you."

"No can do. They're not there anymore remember," I say so quietly that Hilbert can't hear me. Nighstar, on the other hand, looks up at me and gives me a sympathetic look.

I follow Hilbert downstairs and watch as he fiddles with his bag and straps and checks his things once more to make sure he has everything. 'Everything's going to change,' I think quietly to myself.

* * *

"I can't believe my boy is all grown up!" mom said as she hugs Hilbert and dad takes a picture of the two. Hilbert is all decked out in travelling gear with a bag slung over his shoulder and a pair of running shoes on his feet. "Are you sure you have everything Hilbert!? A town map, your xtransciever, your pokedex"

"Mom I don't have my pokedex yet. I still have to go to the lab with the rest of the kids to get it and my new Pokémon. Which I should be doing right now," Hilbert said as he tries to worm his way out of our mom's tight hug.

Mom glanced over at all the kids filing into the Nuvema lab before she finally lets go of Hilbert and said: "Alright. I'm excited to see your new Pokémon, whatever it will be."

"Aurea told me she thinks this years Pokémon are great and have a lot of potential so I'm sure you'll get a great one no matter which one you pick," dad said happily as he waves Hilbert off. Sometimes it was nice having a dad that worked at a Pokémon lab. He was able to give Hilbert a lot of useful tips for his future journey. It kind of made up for the fact that he was always abroad in different regions researching different types of Pokémon.

I watched as Hilbert joined the crowd of soon to be trainers and met with Cheren and Bianca. They looked so excited to go. "What's a Pokémon journey like?" I suddenly ask out loud to my embarrassment. "I mean… um… well… yeah. What is a Pokémon journey like?" 'Wow that was brilliant. I couldn't possibly have sounded any stupider' I hear Nighstar, who's on my shoulder, start to laugh. 'Great.'

My dad glances down at me and then laughs "Oh they're grueling and overrated. Why do you think so many people come home after only getting five badges? Don't worry, you're not missing out on anything." My mom also smiles and nods in agreement.

I know that they're lying, but it was kind of nice to hear them trying to downplay the journey seeing as I would never actually go on one. No Whisperer ever did. Even though it was true that most people stopped at the fifth or fourth badge, most people came back from their journeys happy and full of stories. Everyone that I had ever asked told me that they saw the world in a whole different way by the end and that the decision to go on a journey was the best choice they ever made. Many people long since returned home from their journeys would talk about their adventures and how great it was. 'I'll never have that,' I thought quietly to myself.

Not that it was all bad. Whisperers got to do amazing things that no one else could. I had already been to several different areas in the Unova region as an intern. Last summer I had gone to Floccesy town to help the Rangers keep the wild Pokémon from attacking the locals as well as the domesticated farm Pokémon. The summer before that, I had assisted Professor Juniper in her investigation into the origins of Pokémon and just over spring break I had gone to Castelia city to help Team Plasma treat and rehabilitate the Pokémon they had rescued on one of their raids of Team Rocket. I had loved all of those internships and I hoped I could do some of them again, but it wasn't the same as being on your own and exploring whatever and wherever you wanted.

"Let's go back home and wait for Hilbert to get his Pokémon," my mom said as she ushered me and my dad back towards town, "Aurea said that when the orientation for new trainers is complete, we should come back to the lab to meet Hilbert, Cheren, and Bianca's new Pokémon."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I know all of you are excited to begin your Pokemon journey and that for some of you this will be the first time getting a Pokemon, but we still have to get through this orientation before you can do that so would you all mind quieting down," Professor Juniper called to the array of excited eighteen-year-olds freshly graduated from high school. The teenagers quickly settled into their chairs and respectfully looked at Professor Juniper but most of them still squirmed in their seats like toddlers out of anticipation for the new stage in their lives. Suddenly Professor Juniper threw a pokeball into the air releasing a Minccino causing any quiet whispers from the audience to completely stop. 'That got their attention,' Professor Juniper thought with a smile.

"As we all are well aware, we live in a world inhabited by strange creatures that we call Pokemon. There is still much we do not know or understand about them, though we have already categorized and registered many Pokemon, new ones seem to crop out of nowhere still to this day. The extent of an individual Pokemon's power, their level of intelligence, and the very way they communicate with one another, still remains a mystery to us. That is why you all are assigned a pokedex. This will help not only guide you through the region, it will give you tips on battling, insight into your own Pokemon, tips for care of Pokemon, and of course record the data of your interactions with them.

"Remember that when you are entrusted with the life of another creature. You should all consider your Pokemon to be your friends, your close companions, deserving of your love, time, and affection. Never consider them to be mere tools or objects when battling or even grooming them for a competition. Any abuse of your Pokemon, whether it be unnecessarily pushing your Pokemon past its limits in battle or simple neglect, will result in your Pokemon Trainer license being revoked along with the immediate removal of your Pokemon."

Professor Juniper gazed at the teens and saw the seriousness on their expressions. She smiled once more before continuing, "but Pokemon journeys are not all serious. Journeys are meant to make you grow as individuals, to become more fully aware of what it is you want out of life, and to become mature and responsible adults. You will all have wonderful experiences out there and hopefully meet and make many new friends. You'll find people with differing opinions, different fighting tactics, different goals, and different dreams. I hope that when you do, you'll first listen so that you may learn. You may find that others are not so different from yourself. I hope you all return having wonderful experiences and new insights which you can then share with your families and friends. Now, to the Pokemon!"

At this the whole crowd cheered and excitedly stood. Professor Juniper called: "You will get your Pokemon and pokedex depending on whether you already have a Pokemon and what type of journey you will be going on. Exploratory will stay right here with Professor Pine, Research will go to the left," Professor Juniper called as she went through the different types of journeys before finally saying, "and Master journey will follow me to the back."

After saying this, Professor Juniper left to the room further inside the lab where she waited for the new trainers to come. She pulled out her tablet to check how many would be going on this journey. 'Fourteen,' Professor Juniper read with a slight frown, 'all throughout Unova there are only fourteen graduating students who want to go on a Masters journey.' She sighed to herself in disappointment. There were less and less teenagers signing up for it with each passing year. True, the Masters journey was difficult and potentially dangerous, but there hadn't been any accidents in a while now. 'Probably the influence of Team Plasma,' she thought bitterly. She never cared much for the Pokemon activist group. Not that she didn't support their involvement in stopping Pokemon abuse or the raids on the illegal selling of Pokemon by criminal organizations like Team Rocket, but she hated the fact that they acted like being a trainer was the equivalent of being a slave master and their push to dissolve institutes like the league tournament claiming it was 'an abomination to subject a Pokemon to such pain for the sake of mere sport.' Even though they hadn't made an actual move against the Pokemon League itself, which would have been seen more as treason than just an equal rights movement, it was no secret that Team Plasma also disapproved of them. Not to mention that Team Plasma hated Pokemon Researchers as well. The problem with Team Plasma was that so many people had started to side with them that it was almost impossible to not see its effect. Fewer Trainers than ever before, more protests on items such as pokeballs, and more boycotts on League sponsored events and products. The League had already begun to worry if they would be able to find people to replace their ranks since most League members, such as Gym Leaders, also had gone on a Masters journey before. With so few people signing up to go and the dropout rate being ridiculously high, she worried that the League may be right to be so concerned.

At that moment the door opened revealing several teenagers two of whom she recognized. She smiled at Hilbert and Cheren and they both cheerfully waved at her. She surveyed the other teens who had just walked in. Most looked confident and excited, others looked shy, but all appeared to be thrilled for their new adventure. Well that is except one of them. He looked confident like several of the others, but disapproval was etched all over his face. He stood apart and aloof from the other trainers, making him stand out. Well that and the fact that he had wild green hair that went down his back.

"I'm glad that you all have decided to go on the Masters Journey. I won't lie and tell you that the year or should I say _years_ ahead of you will be easy. You will most likely spend days, weeks even away from civilization where you will train your Pokemon to be stronger and stronger. I hope that most of if not all of you will make it to the Elite Four and the Champion to try and defeat them, but that is no easy victory. On your journey you will learn much about Pokemon, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what type match ups really mean, and how to win even when the odds are against you. It will be difficult, but when you stand on Victory Road and stand at the doors of the Pokemon League, it will be worth it. Now without further ado, you may choose your Pokemon."

With that a screen appeared displaying an Oshawatt, a Snivy, and a Tepig with their information listed below. One by one the trainers came up and chose the Pokemon they wanted to start with, except for one. Professor Juniper approached the green haired boy and asked: "aren't you going to choose one."

"I don't need to," he said curtly, "I already have one."

"Oh? Which one?"

"Purrloin"

At this Professor Juniper sighed and thought 'Maybe another reason there are less trainers is because their becoming less and less competent.' Out loud she said "Well I'm glad that you have a Pokemon, but the reason these three are starters is one, because they were bred and raised within the lab, they are much easier to train and connect to, and second, because they are actually pretty powerful Pokemon and will serve you well while fighting the League. I'm sure your Purrloin is wonderful, but it will take you a long time to train it to stand up against even the first Gym Leaders."

"Well isn't that the whole point of _believing_ in your Pokemon? I mean Pokemon are our _friends_ right which is why of course they'll do great when we send them out to be attacked during a battle" the boy asked with a smirk.

'Is he mocking me,' Professor Juniper, 'or is this just some prank that he's pulling. From what he said he should be going to Team Plasma for recruitment not going on a Pokemon Masters journey.' "What's your name," she asked the boy.

"N"

"N? Just N? Well then N, mind if I ask why you're even going on a Pokemon journey to begin with?"

At this N just sighed and said, "In the society we live in, if we are to prove our merit and worth to others, we must first battle. According to the League, if we are to capture wild Pokemon we must first gain its respect by first beating it down to a point that it can no longer escape the Pokeballs that we throw at it. If we are to gain respect from our peers, we must beat them at a Pokemon battle and take their money. If we want to join the League, we must earn a certain number of badges by again battling and fighting. It's how our society works unfortunately."

Professor Juniper pursed her lips in disapproval and held back a sharp and rather rude retort before simply saying "So you're looking for recognition? For respect and approval? Who do you have to prove yourself to?"

"Everyone," N replied, "now when do I get my pokedex so that I can leave this place."

Professor Juniper sighed and tried not to roll her eyes at him. "Well everyone else has already chosen a Pokemon so the last thing to do is register." Turning her back on N and facing the rest of the trainers who were excitedly holding their new Pokemon, she called "Okay, now you will all get your pokedexes. Guard them well, they are irreplaceable."

Hilbert than rushed forward to Professor Juniper and said "Au- I mean Professor Juniper- can I register my name as something other than Hilbert."

Professor Juniper laughed and said, "Of course, many trainers do that. As you may already know, Skyla, the Gym Leader in Mistralton City, changed her name as did Grimsley of the Elite Four."

"And the Pokemon Masters Red and Blue did too," Hilbert added almost reverently.

Professor Juniper nodded: "Exactly. Now what would you like to name yourself?"

"Black," Hilbert smiled, "call me Black from now on!"

"Alright, Black," Professor Juniper said giving Black a wink, "That's what I'll call you from now on. Well, at least for as long as you're an official Pokemon trainer." Professor Juniper then addressed the group again: "Alright, now that you have your pokedex I want you all to open it to the Unova map section. I've already told you most of what a pokedex can do, but this is a feature that wasn't covered in the orientation. Do you see the different forests and routes?" The trainers nod "Now do you notice the different colors and shading around those areas?" Again, a nod "The dark red areas indicate where extremely powerful and dangerous Pokemon live while the lighter areas indicate where powerful but less dangerous Pokemon live. The blue areas indicate relatively safe areas and the light blue mean that there is almost no danger. You'll notice that route 1 is extremely light blue while the forest named Discordian Wood is one of the darkest red. It's ironic that we have two such extreme examples right here in Nuvema town, but there you have it. Route 1 is so safe the League doesn't even have anyone monitoring the route to make sure they have Pokemon strong enough to fight the wild Pokemon. On the other hand, you have Discordian Wood where you can't even enter without a Pokemon Whisperer. Alright off you go. Oh also, remember to keep your Pokemon in their Pokeballs within the city limits at all times and if you get a bike, remember to not ride around on it in inappropriate areas."

With that, the group of new trainers eagerly left the lab, already challenging each other to a battle. Black and Cheren were about to leave as well when the Professor came up to them and said "Cheren, Hil-Black, wait. I invited both of your parents to come over before you officially went down Route 1 on your journey."

Cheren and Black looked at each other before Cheren said. "That's fine. As long as Hilbert… I mean Black and I get to battle each other."

"Oh you're so on! Hey, Cheren what do you think of my new name!? Isn't it so much better than Hilbert?"

"Hilbert is a perfectly good name… but I'll admit that Black does sound better. Just don't tell your parents that I said that. That goes for you too Professor!"

"No worries, Cheren. My lips are sealed."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The story will move slowly at the beginning, but it does pick up later. Please R/R! I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions for my story!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

My parents and I step into the lab to come face to face with a grinning Bianca, Cheren, and Hilbert. "Oh Ivory, look at the adorable Tepig that I got! Isn't he so cute," Bianca gushes as she calls out a small Tepig that immediately runs up to me and nuzzles me affectionately. "I think I'm going to name him Smokey because you know that's what fire types do!"

"You got a fire type!" Bianca's dad cries out in fear, "Oh but they can be so dangerous! I kind of hoped you would get a Snivy… and maybe just skip the journey altogether and go straight to University."

At this Bianca rolled her eyes and said "Dad come on. Smokey's perfectly harmless and besides I'll always be with a group of other trainers. I'll be perfectly safe."

"I know. I know. I just can't help but worry. Nuvema is so small compared to places like Castelia or even Driftveil. I just worry you'll get hurt or not watch out for thugs or get your things stolen or"

"Dad calm down. Even mom's calmer than you are! I'll be fine!"

"Anyway," Cheren interjected, "who wants to see my Pokemon! I got a Snivy," he said as he, too, called out his Pokemon. "I named her Gwen." Gwen also came up to me alongside Smokey and wrapped her small leaf-like arms around my leg.

"And this is mine," Hilbert called excitedly as Oshawatt came out and literally jumped into my arms "I'm calling him Blade. Also, I renamed myself! I'm going to go as Black from now on!"

I always knew that Hilbert couldn't stand his name, but I didn't think he would actually rename himself once he left on a journey. Least of all to one of the most boring colors there is. "You named yourself Black? I'll admit I kind of thought you would rename yourself Ash"

At this Black blushed and said: "Of course I wouldn't call myself after a character on a kids show!"

I look down at all their Pokemon that are currently surrounding me and say: "They're really cute!" At this the Pokemon hug me tighter and smile at the approval.

"Well I've had my Pokemon for about twenty minutes and then Ivory comes and steals them all in one foul swoop," Cheren says dryly.

Professor Juniper laughed and said "Don't worry. They're just new and inexperienced Pokemon. Of course they'll go to a Pokemon Whisperer right away. A Whisperer is like honey for honeycombs for young Pokemon. Give them a couple of months and they won't go to Ivory… well at least not right away."

I scoop up the Pokemon and return them each to their respective Pokemon trainers. All the Pokemon appear to be happy and excited even though I can tell none of them really have any idea what's going on. They could only be a few weeks old at most it seems.

"Okay now it's time for the pictures!" Cheren's mom said excitedly bringing out her camera. Bianca's and my parents do the same as well.

Cheren groaned "Mom! We don't need to have our pictures taken!"

"Oh but we do," Bianca said in agreement, "you only go on a Pokemon journey once… well once for me at least, which means that we have to photograph and document everything! Have you ever heard of a Pokejournal? It's not just a journal where you record what you've done and your thoughts, you can ask fellow Pokemon trainers to sign in it and sometimes Gym Leaders will also sign if you gave them a really good battle. I've seen some pictures of awesome Pokejournals and they'll put all sorts of things in it like pictures and stubs from tickets to Pokemon musicals and things like that. It's incredible! We should all do that! I've already bought a journal for myself."

"That sounds girly and super cheesy. I'm not going to do it," Cheren said abruptly. "Besides I'm going to spend most of my time in the forests training my Pokemon, I won't have time for pictures."

"Oh, come on Cheren! It will be fun. Well if you won't do it, I'll make one for you!"

Cheren simply rolled his eyes but didn't continue arguing with Bianca. Despite their grumblings, Cheren, Bianca, and Black all stood next to each other with their new Pokemon in their arms and smiled as our parents began wildly taking pictures.

Finally, Black said: "Okay enough pictures. Now we should battle!"

"Not in here you're not! The Pokemon will wreck the lab. You three can go outside onto the battle field to fight," Professor Juniper stated coolly.

"Great!" Black said as he ran out the doors towards the battle field. I ran after him and was quickly followed by Cheren and Bianca. Outside was warm and sunny. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky to hide the clear blue sky. A perfect day for an adventure. We run to the side of the lab where there is a field about the length of a soccer field with special markings indicating it's meant for Pokemon battles.

Cheren stands at one side while Black runs to the other and yells: "Ready?" In response Cheren simply calls Snivy out from her pokeball. Black does as well and says "Hey, what do you think of my battle pose that I thought of." He holds up one fist like he's about to punch someone and the with the other hand he points it at Cheren.

"That's a terrible pose," Cheren calls out across the field to Black. "You look like you want to get into an actual fight rather than a Pokemon battle."

"Well it's a work in progress. Anyway, let's go"

"I'll referee!" Bianca calls next to me. "Okay, ready. Go!"

'I hope none of their Pokemon get hurt,' I think to myself as Black commands his Oshawatt to tackle while Cheren orders his Snivy to do the same. The Pokemon ran towards each other, but when they got close to impact, they stopped and looked over at me.

"Ivory," Professor Juniper called to me as she and our parents walked slowly towards us, "you need to put on your glasses so that Cheren and Black are free to command their Pokemon as they want."

'That's right,' I think to myself as I hurriedly put on my glasses. Whisperers were just as much of a mystery to the rest of humanity as were Pokemon themselves. At least that's what the Pokemon Professors told me. No one was quite sure how Whisperers got and used their powers or even how they were born. It wasn't genetic, neither of my parents were Whisperers and that went for my grandparents as well. Being a Whisperer also didn't mean really liking Pokemon or even just working well with them, there were plenty of people who loved and adored Pokemon who can't do what I can. It was more like a Whisperer held such a special connection with Pokemon that they could understand them on a deeper level and—the thing that made Whisperers stand out from all others—could control them. Wild as well as captured Pokemon would never attack or harm a Whisperer and that Whisperer could then order the Pokemon to do whatever they wanted. As a Whisperer, I could theoretically order a caught Pokemon to attack its own trainer even though that is of course illegal. The weird thing is, a Whisperer's power seems to be tied to their eyes and their ability to make eye contact with Pokemon. They say that you can see into a person's soul when you look into their eyes. I guess that's what Whisperers do when they look at Pokemon. Luckily, the glasses the Professors gave me when I was officially registered as a Pokemon Whisperer seem to negate the effect to some extent.

The battle continued. The Pokemon were clearly new to battling and had no idea what to really do besides run at each other and hit the other. It was a close battle and Cheren nearly won, but in the last volley of tackles, Blade managed to avoid Gwen's tackle and then attack her from behind and knock her out. Bianca announced the winner and Black yelled "Yes! We did it Blade! You're awesome!" The young Oshawatt turned to its trainer and beamed in excitement at its fresh battle.

"Okay my turn," Bianca called as she ran to take Cheren's place. "Out of the way Cheren! I want to fight the winner."

Cheren rolled his eyes and said "Bianca, both of us are beginners. Black just got lucky."

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that Cheren. Keep saying that until I make it to the League and beat the Champion."

"Whatever," Cheren retorted "I'll of course get to the League before everyone else and become the new Champion."

"I hope you do. Then after I defeat you, I'll become the next Champion."

"You boys do realize that that's not how the League works, right?" my dad interjects "I mean Alder would have to agree to accept Cheren as an apprentice Champion to train under him while at the same time attending college. Even then, the Elite Four would have to vote for Cheren as a competent enough Champion. There's a whole process to it in order to avoid the very thing you're describing."

"Yeah I know. Doesn't change it from being fun to think about. Alright Bianca, you ready to go?"

"Yep," Bianca said cheerily as she sent out her Tepig.

"Wait a minute aren't you going to heal your Pokemon Hilbert, oh I mean Black," my mom asked as she quickly ran over to his Oshawatt. "Here, use this potion." After that, my mom runs off the field to join the rest of us spectators.

The battle begins and I can tell that even though it's only Blade's second battle, he's improved a lot. The dodges aren't as sloppy, and the tackles are already a little more precise. Black was also quicker to give commands and notice potentially dangerous situations that would expose the little Oshawatt to Smokey's many tackles. It also helped that Bianca was clearly not very good at giving commands. She ended up fixatedly watching the battle before she gave an order two seconds after Blade did something like tackle Smokey or dodge an attack. Black easily won the battle causing him to cheer again and Blade to do a little happy dance while Bianca simply laughed at the display, but I couldn't help but notice that Smokey looked genuinely upset that he had lost the battle.

"Okay! I think we're all ready to go… finally," I hear Cheren say as he hefts his backpack on.

"Good luck on your journey," Cheren and my parents say to Cheren and Black.

"Remember Bianca that your group leaves tomorrow from Accumula town at 3:30 right after the fair," Bianca's mom tells her, "you'll just love the fair. They introduce all sorts of careers there for you to think about."

"That's right. Professor Cedar is going there to represent Pokemon researchers. You should go to his booth," Professor Juniper says warmly to Bianca.

"Oh I'm so excited," Bianca cheers as she grabs Black and Cheren's arms. "Come on, Route 1 isn't going to walk itself. I'll send you tons of pictures mom and dad. You too, Ivory!" She yells as she rushes and pulls Cheren and Black down towards Route 1. It's already getting close to dusk, but no one, even Bianca's dad, is really worried about that because it's such a secure route and really it only takes an hour tops to walk to the next town over. Nighstar jumps down from my shoulder and runs down the road a little ways before giving a cry which is his way of saying goodbye.

Cheren and Bianca's parents also leave to go to their respective homes leaving just me, my parents, and Professor Juniper standing there by the lab.

"So, Aurea are you going to go back to the lab and work or are you done for the day?" My mom asks Professor Juniper.

Professor Junipers laughs and says: "I'm done for the day. Orientation day for new trainers are always stressful. Sorting out all those new Pokemon can be a real nightmare you know."

"Well if you're free you should come over for dinner, tonight."

"Why thank you Savannah. I'd really appreciate it if it's not too inconvenient. Come on Ivory."

I had stood staring at Route 1 and I hadn't noticed that my parents and Professor Juniper were already leaving and heading toward my house. I run after them with Nighstar racing beside me. When we got inside, I immediately go to the kitchen to pull out the plates and start setting the table. It wasn't unusual for Professor Juniper to come over for dinner, she was close friends with my mom and of course she was my dad's coworker. My mom always tried to match Professor Juniper up with some of the few eligible bachelors in Nuvema, but my dad insisted that she was married to work and could never be taken away from it.

My parents talked to Professor Juniper for a while about things like work and politics and other things like that. I only caught a few of the things they were saying.

"… we hope to isolate the strain of protein that provides immediate energy to a Pokemon. One of our coworkers joked that we should name the energy bar RageCandyBar because it could potentially give a fainted Pokemon the strength to get up and go… Oh yes, I heard about the removal of PCs from Pokemon centers. The international trainers are upset about this because the rule for only six Pokemon isn't a law in their Regions… this one new trainer that I met was seriously obnoxious and refused to get a starter Pokemon because he thought that a Purrloin, one of the most difficult Pokemon to train to actually battle, was enough to get him through. He probably won't make it past the first gym..."

I'll admit that I wasn't paying as much attention because everything just felt weird without Black around. Thinking about his new trainer name was also weird. Everything just felt off without him saying something dumb with lots of energy. I guess I just have to get used to this. Nighstar glances over at me from the stool he's sitting on and smiles encouragingly. 'At least I still have Nighstar.'

"Ivory, you've been awfully quiet this evening. Are you feeling okay?" my mom asks interrupting my reverie.

"Yeah. I'm okay. It's just weird to be here without Black around."

At this my mom laughed and said, "I guess it's weird to think that your brother won't be around for a while, but honestly most school holidays are kind of like this for us. You're usually the one going off on one of your internships, but this time you're here while your brother isn't."

That's true. I guess I had never really thought about it before. I was always excited to go wherever my internship was that I hadn't really thought about Black. I only knew that Black would be working at some of the summer camps.

"Speaking of internships, have you decided what you're going to do this summer? The lab is always looking for Pokemon Whisperers to help out," Professor Juniper said and smiled at me hopefully. One nice thing about being a Pokemon Whisperer is that you're always wanted for what you could do. Every internship that I ever attended wasted no effort to make sure I was comfortable and enjoyed my stay in the hope that when I turned eighteen, I would sign a contract to come and work for them. There aren't very many Pokemon Whisperers out there so every single one is valued, and everyone wants one of us to work for them. I'm pretty sure that there is only one other Pokemon Whisperer in my entire high school. The only problem is, because I'm a Whisperer, ordinary jobs like in banking or businesses are extremely discouraged to the point of basically being banned because I would be essentially wasting my "talents." Most people say it's great to be unique, but no one seems to realize that when you're so unique with a highly valuable skill, you're viewed more as an expensive commodity than an actual person.

"Well… I was wanting to ask you something about that. Would it be possible to go to only be a part of an internship for only a few days or even a few weeks and then moving on to a different one afterwards?"

Professor Juniper blinked at me in confusion and said "maybe… no one's really done that before. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about how cool it would be if I could go on my own Pokemon journey and travel throughout all of Unova like Black and Cheren and Bianca."

"Ivory, honey, Whisperers don't go on Pokemon journeys. After you graduate your journey will be an expedition with a research group or another division in the League. Sure, it isn't the classic Pokemon journey, but I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself just as much."

I sigh. It is kind of what I expected to hear. Expeditions were when a group of Pokemon Whisperers would lead a group of people out into areas that were too dangerous for normal humans to go into. In Unova, that would typically mean the Relic castle in the desert Resort, all of the Giant Chasm, certain parts of Reversal Mountain, areas around the Pokemon League, and a variety of forests including Discordian Wood right next to Nuvema. Researchers would study the rare, dangerous, and wild Pokemon there to record in the pokedex or even for historical reasons like in Relic castle. Other expeditions would include bringing League members to dangerous areas to find and collect valuable ingredients or precious items like evolutionary stones or lucky eggs and the like. Even with the development of the pokeball which allowed trainers to capture and train Pokemon to fight and defend them from wild Pokemon, there were still Pokemon that could easily outsmart and kill the trainers and the captive Pokemon such as most Ghost type Pokemon, almost all psychic, and dark type, not to mention the viciousness that dragon types would show to any strangers. I still remember hearing about a group of young trainers who went out to Lostlorn Forest and were later found by a pair of Rangers who appeared to have been viciously killed by Zoroark.

"When you asked about being able to switch internships, were you thinking of taking them consecutively along the traditional Pokemon journey route?" Professor Juniper asked me.

"Yeah. I was thinking that if I couldn't go on a normal journey maybe I could follow and fulfill internships as I go."

Professor Juniper sat there quietly for a moment before saying, "That's actually a really interesting idea. You could work with my friend Fennel in Striaton, Lenora in Nacrene city, endless possibilities in Castelia City but I would say that you would most likely end up helping Team Plasma, the Musical Theater in Nimbassa City, and I know that every other city will gladly accept a Whisperers help. Of course, I would have to research it more, but it could be arranged."

"Aurea, are you seriously suggesting that Ivory go on a Whisperer's version of a Pokemon journey?"

"Why not?" Professor Juniper asked, "Ivory clearly wants to go, and she won't ever get this opportunity after she graduates high school. Why not go when her friends are also on theirs?"

"Well I see a problem. Summer vacation only lasts two months and then it's back to school. A Pokemon journey can last up to a year depending on how fast a trainer travels."

I was about to say something sassy like 'school's overrated,' but I realized that probably wouldn't fly in the company of two Professors holding PhDs. Instead I said, "well if it takes a really long time maybe I could just take classes online. I mean if I'm being perfectly honestly, I don't really like school that much. Not that I don't like learning or anything, but I've always preferred being outside and everyone stares at Nightstar and a lot of them treat me differently because I'm a Whisperer." As I said this, I was surprised by how passionately I had spoken. Earlier today, I had just been thinking to myself that maybe next year would be different and I would be seen for who I was. But now, as I voiced my thoughts, I found that I was saying the very things that I knew to be true but had been denying for the past several years.

When I was younger, I hated school so much that I would skip or leave school in the middle of the day just to get away. I would leave with Nighstar (who I had usually tried to hide in my bag which was strictly against the school rules since people, myself included, didn't realize I was a Pokemon Whisperer and that me and Nightstar were bonded) and head to Discordian Wood where I would meet up with my three friends and play with the wild Pokemon. I had been best friends with those three, but no one believed they actually existed. My parents said that I had made them up because I was having a hard time connecting with the other children. Sometimes I believed them and told myself that it was all my head, but Nightstar knows… and the nightmares from when they were taken are always a reminder. Aside from those three, I've never had very close friends. Even Cheren and Bianca, whom I think of as part of the family, have always been more my brother's friends than mine. Sure, I had friends in my own grade, but I never really talked to them outside of school. Not being able to go on a Pokemon journey has always been a reminder for me that I will never be looked at like a normal person, least of all by a bunch of teenagers.

My parents both looked at me in surprise from this statement. "I had no idea that's how you felt, sweetie," my dad says, "I mean it seemed like you were starting to enjoy school."

I looked down at the tablecloth and stared at it for a moment before looking up and saying "I really have started liking school. Especially last year when I got to spend a lot of time with Cheren, Bianca, and Hilbert."

"And next year they won't be there, but you'll be able to make other friends," my mother insisted.

I know she's right and that next year will probably be fine… but still.

"You know what," Professor Juniper announced, "I think the idea of a Pokemon Whisperer journey is fascinating and I don't see why she can't go. Of course, no Whisperer should travel alone which is why I would tell every group she interns for to report to me when she arrives and leaves. Ivory, you would also need to have travel companions so that you won't be alone. You could always go with Black, Cheren, or Bianca. You can go for the whole summer, and by that point you can decide whether you wish to continue or to return home and go to school. If you choose to continue to travel though, you'll still have to take online classes. Does that seem acceptable to you, Ivory? Savannah? Josh?"

My parents look at me while my dad asks, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

I smile and say: "Yes"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

**A/N: So, a lot of this story has already been written and I would have to change a lot if I were to make changes to it. I haven't been all that clear in all my explanations. I'm sorry about that! This is my first chapter fanfiction so sorry for all the mistakes!**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Accumula Town was alive and bustling with booths displaying possible careers with Pokemon and young trainers wandering in and out of them. Black, Cheren, and Bianca wandered down Accumula's plaza inspecting each of the booths while Bianca provided eager commentary on each of them: "Oh look over there! It's the Pokemon breeders, I've heard that it can be really hard though because you're not only surrounded by almost wild Pokemon, but once you start training them it's hard not to get attached which makes selling them really difficult. Oh, the Musical! I don't think Smokey is really cut out for all the footwork involved in that. Hey that's-"

"Bianca, we have eyes too. We can see all the different booths as well."

"Well, which one of them looks interesting to you?"

"None of them. I'm going to first join the League and then become stronger and stronger until I'm Champion. I don't plan on spending any time dressing up my Pokemon in ridiculous costumes or joining a Pokemon fanclub."

"Same," Black agreed, "I'm going to work on leveling my Pokemon up and becoming closer to them. I remember hearing somewhere that in order to become a Pokemon Master you must be able to understand and work with a Pokemon as closely as a Whisperer can. The best way to do that is through battle!"

"Do you seriously believe that, young man?" a man asked as he approached him, "trainers often claim they become closer to their Pokemon after a fight, but really all they are doing is subjecting their Pokemon to needless pain, usually for the sake of sport or recreation. The very fact that trainers still hold wagers about which Pokemon can stay conscious the longest after mercilessly attacking each other is appalling."

The three trainers looked at the man and saw that the man, although dressed normally, had a Plasma insignia on his sleeve. "Oh no," Black groaned, "it's Team Plasma. Why is your group here? Shouldn't you be somewhere else like protesting against Pokemon hairstyling and promoting veganism or something. This is a place for people who want to take their Pokemon seriously."

Bianca squeaked "Black that was rude!" while Cheren simply chuckled.

The man looked infuriated at Black's remark and was about to give a rather nasty retort when a voice called from behind him "forgive my colleague. He feels very passionate about our cause just as we all do, but he forgets that not everyone shares the same views." The voice belonged to man wearing a nice business suit with a Plasma insignia on his chest pocket. His most distinguishing features though were his red eyes and red eyepatch and his long green hair. "My name is Ghetsis and I'm here as an official representative of Team Plasma."

"Wait a minute. Ghetsis as in Ghetsis Harmonia?" Cheren asked in shock, "you're like the original founder of Team Plasma, aren't you? I think I've seen you on TV getting an interview about Plasma's goals."

"Well I am one of the seven founders of Team Plasma, but yes you are correct," he replied calmly. "Our mission is not to bully trainers into submission, rather to get them to reconsider their position on Pokemon and their place within society."

"My problem with you guys is that you seem to think that we trainers don't love our Pokemon. I've only been with my Oshawatt for a day, but I already think he's insanely adorable and can't imagine releasing him. Besides, if we didn't have Pokemon we wouldn't be able to protect ourselves from wild Pokemon. There aren't enough Pokemon Whisperers in the world to secure every route, village, and town."

"I understand your concerns and much of that comes from misinformation. That is one of the reasons we are here. To help clarify our cause. It's well known that Pokemon and humans have had a tense relationship for almost as long as humanity has been on this earth. In the ancient times, it was the Whisperers who served as the rulers and protectors of humanity, but even then, violence between human and Pokemon was a common occurrence. With the creation of pokeballs, humanity found a way to control Pokemon and thus encroach on Pokemon territory by way of battle. We have continued to make technological advancements, yet instead of devising methods of communication between us and Pokemon, we have merely chosen to find better methods of entrapping and enslaving them. In this modern era, we do not even truly respect Pokemon in their full strength. You may love your Pokemon, but do you appreciate it as an equal or do you think of it as a pet? Do you fully comprehend the fact that almost every time a Pokemon is called from it's Pokemon it is called out to fight? And finally, do you realize that we breed Pokemon in order to get Pokemon with certain traits, but what say does the Pokemon get in all of this. Are they capable of love and able to understand familial ties? If so, are we not truly the monsters here seeing as we rip these ties apart by capturing them in pokeballs or taking their eggs from them."

At this, the teens just stared at Ghetsis as they were unable to come up with anything to say in response. Ghetsis smiled at their stunned silence before continuing, "you see, what Team Plasma does is ask the unasked questions. Are Pokemon capable of higher thought and reasoning just as humans are. Perhaps they are not as inventive as we are, but maybe their society is run in a completely different manner than our own and their language, which can only be heard in a series of cries and shrieks that sound similar to the names we give them, is understandable between themselves. If this is the case, should we not give them more rights within our society rather than the slave status they hold. Shouldn't a Pokemon be able to decide whether it wants to participate in contests and battles rather than just the trainers? Shouldn't contracts be signed at construction sites where many rock and fighting Pokemon work? And what of the Pokemon in laboratories, shouldn't they agree to being experimented on? Think about it. That's all we ask," and with that Ghetsis and the other Plasma member leave to talk to other wandering trainers.

The trio walk in glum silence between the brilliantly colored booths and their fellow laughing trainers. Finally, Black breaks the silence by saying: "man that was seriously some deep stuff. I don't even know what to think about half of it."

Cheren shakes his head firmly before saying "no, I'm not going to let him stop my dreams because of some vague philosophical idea that has no scientific basis. Captured Pokemon are happy, enjoy being in the company of humans, and like to battle. In fact, I heard of a study that proves wild Pokemon battle each other to hone their skills. Pokemon are born to fight, which is why they do it."

"Is it though?" Bianca asks quietly, "or is it just that they've evolved that way because it's been necessary."

"Don't let it get to you Bianca. Besides, you won't be doing much fighting. Maybe a couple of gyms and trainer school before you move on to just explore all the cities and possible careers. So, don't worry too much about it."

She smiled and nodded. "You're absolutely right! This is my one chance to have a blast, take as many pictures as possible, and see all of Unova!"

"Oh, and speaking of battles, it looks like they have some going on at the fields out there. Let's go!" Black yells as he sprints off in the direction of the Pokemon battles. Cheren races beside him and after a slight moment of hesitation, Bianca follows them.

All around the field young trainers were yelling and shouting out commands as their young Pokemon clumsily made their way to their opponents as they tried to hit them with an attack. Some Pokemon trainers were already pretty good while others were woefully inept. Black had already plunged into a battle with a young trainer carrying a bug catching net and Cheren had approached a giggling girl showing off her Lilipup to her friends. Bianca smiled and sat on a wall overlooking the field.

As she sat there, two trainers walked over to the wall where one joined a group of his friends and said to the other trainer: "you and your Purrloin are really good. It's why I can't understand why you like that Plasma group so much. Your Purrloin seems happy with me while Allie, my Oshawatt, is very happy with me. Why would you want to change that relationship?"

"I'm not saying that Pokemon and people should not love each other, but we should really reconsider the implications of our actions towards our Pokemon in relation to our own selves," a smooth and almost melodical voice responded. 'Who is this guy?' Bianca thought to herself, 'he sounds more like an old Professor than an eighteen-year-old.' Bianca slightly shifted her position so she could better see the trainer. She almost fell off the wall when she saw the long green hair the boy sported. At first, she had thought it was Ghetsis from behind, but she quickly realized that his hair was too long and wild and his outfit was completely different.

The boy continued "you two are friends, are you not?" he said gesturing between the one trainer and another that stood beside him. The two looked at each other and nodded. "Now imagine if one of you decided that you were going to capture him in a pokeball and carry him around wherever you go. You call your friend out to fight other people who decided it was a good idea to lock away their friends and they may end up getting seriously hurt, but that's alright because you just take them to a hospital and afterwards they're ready to fight again. Of course, you also take out your friend occasionally to talk to him and tell him that together you'll fulfill your dream, never once considering what your friend might want to do. That sounds like a great friendship to me don't you think?"

"Er… um… well… no. When you put it like that it does sound kind of like slavery, but Pokemon aren't people! They don't think the same way we do. They like being in pokeballs and travelling around with trainers. Besides, life in the wild must have been really tough and now they get plenty of food and shelter."

"Hmm… just as a gladiator gets food and shelter. Also, I must say that you act like you know for a fact that Pokemon are happy when your information for that must be more authoritative than from an actual primary source. I doubt you've ever asked your Pokemon whether or not it's happy and actually gotten an exact answer back."

"Well no, but maybe I will tonight. Besides, you have a Pokemon with you and you fight."

"I fight today in the hopes that one day I never will have to again. I understand that Pokemon are needed for protection, but that is no excuse for slavery or the blatant gambling and sports revolving around League tournaments. One day, that will all change."

"… Well thanks again for the battle and good luck on the journey. I'll be sure to take real good care of my Pokemon and maybe I'll even try asking it whether it wants to battle before I send it out. Anyway, see ya later," the trainer said with a wave as he took off with his other friends to go back to the fair.

The boy turns around and looks at Bianca who was blatantly staring straight at him. Bianca realized what she was doing and blushed furiously before stammering "Uh… um… hi," 'why did he have to be so good looking'. She thought to herself as the heat in her cheeks increased. 'This is already awkward enough as it is.'

"Hello. Are you a new trainer as well?"

"Um… yeah," she said and quietly wondered if he would go on another tirade about how awful it was that Pokemon were enslaved in pokeballs.

He simply smiled and said "my name is N. What's yours?"

"Me? I'm Bianca. I'm from Nuvema town."

Before either of them could say any more, Black and Cheren ran back over to Bianca. Black yelled "I totally kicked that youngster Joey's tail back to Kanto and back! How many did you win Cheren?"

"Five," Cheren said smugly.

"Ha! I got six. Better luck next time!" Black said cockily. At this point Black had noticed N who was standing next to where Bianca was sitting. "Oh hey! I remember you! You're on a Masters journey like me and Cheren. What was your name again?"

"N," he said smiling tightly as he reached out his hand to shake Black's, "What was yours again?"

"Black. Hey, do you want a battle?"

"Are you hoping to make your streak seven?" N asked coldly.

"Of course!" and with that Black ran back out to the field and N slowly followed. This time Bianca chose to follow while Cheren opted to have another battle in an attempt to not be bested by Black.

Bianca quietly watched as a battle commenced between the two. Blade versus N's Purrloin. Blade had already gotten pretty good in the short time those two had been working together. His water gun was more accurate, and his movements were more precise. Despite this, Blade unfortunately missed the Purrloin with his water gun towards the end of the battle and the Purrloin managed to come up beneath the small Oshawatt and land a critical hit with its scratch which caused Blade to fall to the ground in defeat.

"Wow. I'll admit I didn't see that coming. When I scanned your Pokemon with my pokedex it said that it was only in the level 7 range while my Oshawatt has now reached more of a level 10 range, but I guess critical hits can win you just about anything."

N smiled and declined to take Black's money. "Keep it and buy a potion instead." With that he smiled at both Black and Bianca before leaving the field and walking back into town.

"Hmm… that was kind of a weird battle," Black said slowly.

"Why?"

"Well you know how at the last water gun Blade jumped to spray the Purrloin with it, well the weird thing is I never ordered it to jump."

"Pokemon improvise, don't they?"

"Yeah, but Oshawatts underbelly without it's shell is it's weakness. It almost felt like Blade did it just so the Purrloin could win. I know that's a weird thing so say and I'm probably wrong, but that's just how it felt."

"Well the battle was so short and intense that maybe Blade didn't even realize what he was doing."

"Yeah probably."

**A/N: Okay so one of my problems with BW games is that Team Plasma had a lot of potential to make some interesting arguments, but then they just turned out to be totally evil and bent on world domination. Team Plasma is still like that here (don't worry Ghetsis is evil as always) but they have more interesting points than the games do. **

**I also wanted to make N well educated and able to stand up to trainers that oppose his views. In the games he's just a puppet and doesn't really know what he's talking about. In this fanfiction, he's been well educated by the Sages, has social skills, and he's really powerful. He's still a puppet though.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

**A/N: Another Chapter! Yay! Also, a note on the bond Pokemon Whisperers share between each other. I realized that I didn't really explain their relationship very well in the story. A Pokemon that's bonded to a Whisperer is almost like a part of their soul. They know and understand each other perfectly and they're willing to die for each other. You can also think of it as a witch/wizard and their familiar.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

When my mom and I finally arrive in Accumula town, it's already in the afternoon and the fair for the new trainers has already died down significantly. Most groups only stay for the previous evening and the following morning before setting off to the next city. As we walk down the road, I see a familiar green hat. "Bianca," I shout excitedly. Bianca turns to look at both me and my mother in surprise.

"Ivory, Mrs. Greystorm, what are you doing here?" I then explain to her my plan of traveling around Unova in a sort of Whisperer journey. After I finish, she says, "Wow that's cool! That means that you can sort of come with us! I mean you won't be able to go to any gyms, but I won't be really going either. This will be so much fun! Oh, that reminds me. This needs to be documented immediately." She then pulls out her phone so that she and I can take a selfie and then she announces "you need a pokejournal! I'm going to get you one right now and lots of stickers to put inside it!" And with that she takes off in the direction of the nearest crafts shop before either my mother or I could say anything.

"Well even though I had my reservations about you going before, I think you'll have a good time. Certainly, Bianca will make your life more interesting. If you stick to Bianca's group, you should be safe and see a lot of new things! Plus, it's one of the faster journeys so you should be back in no time!"

At this I just smile and try hard not to roll my eyes before saying: "Thanks for coming with me to Accumula town. I'm sure I'll be fine from here on out."

"Well okay sweetie. Just be sure to call us on a regular basis. We want to know where you are and what you're doing!" She then hugs me again before turning to leave back towards Nuvema town.

I turn back towards the trainers fair and smile and breathe deeply. It was so nice to finally be out here by myself. No security detail that accompanied me to an internship, no one asking me if I was alright, just me and Nighstar taking on the world. Nightstar also seems really excited about starting our journey and he enthusiastically bounds towards the fair to see what's on display. Several people are startled when they first see Nightstar weaving his way through the crowd, but then they see his pendant tied right below his star on his tail and they relax. They know he's a Whisperer's Pokemon and won't do any harm. I also have a pendant that I keep pinned on my black vest which marks me as a Whisperer. I have to wear it all the time as does Nightstar.

Before heading down the street, I pause to look back at the store that Bianca ran into. 'Should I wait for her?' I think to myself, but then I realized that Bianca takes forever when she's shopping because she can never decide on anything. I could probably walk down the street and look at several booths before she'd be finished. I followed Nightstar down the street and listened to trainers talking about their travel plans or recent battles they had.

As we pass by a field, Nightstar stops and cocks his head inquisitively and says "Shi?" Suddenly he enthusiastically sprints over to a tall figure who had been leaning against a wall watching trainers battle. The figure turns just as Nightstar leaps up and barrels into his chest sending him sprawling onto the ground.

I quickly run over to the fallen boy, apologizing profusely for Nightstar's behavior, and extend my hand to help him up. He takes my hand and as I'm about to help pull him up, he looks up at me and our eyes meet. 'It can't be,' I said as I find myself frozen to the spot. 'The long, wild green hair, those same gray eyes, he's even still wearing all the same trinkets from when we were kids.' At last I say "…N!?"

"_Hey weirdo! Guess what I got," a young boy about the age of seven yells to me as he holds out a pokeball, "today is the day I'll catch that stupid Shinx of yours!"_

_It was recess time, and I had gone to the edge of the playground with my back towards the school so the teachers couldn't see Nightstar, whom I had stashed away in my backpack as usual. Nightstar looked up at me in confusion and fear. I knew he didn't understand what a pokeball was, but he did know that the boy, Josh, wanted to take him away from me. I turn to Josh and his little gang of friends and yell: "go away! Nightstar is my friend and you're never going to take him away from me."_

"_Dummy, Pokemon aren't allowed in school, least of all an electric type Pokemon. I'm doing you a favor by taking away that thing from you. Don't worry, one day when I go on my Pokemon journey I'll raise it to be a strong Luxray." Josh than comes closer to me and tries to grab Nightstar from my arms, "give him to me. Wouldn't want to catch you in a pokeball as well seeing as you're basically a Pokemon as well."_

"_Stop it! Leave us alone! Why are you so mean!?" I cry as I struggle against Josh's strong grip, but it's hopeless seeing as I'm two years younger than him. Nightstar was also panicking and instinctively sent out an electric shock sending Josh and his gang to the ground where they lay twitching from the electric charge that had surged through their body._

_I picked up Nightstar and ran. I ran as far as I could away from the school. I ran straight into a forest, ignoring the warning signs and markings running along the forest's perimeter. Eventually I grow tired of running and slow to a walk through the tall underbrush. The forest was relatively quiet, with only the rustle of the bright, green leaves above and the occasional chirrups of pidoves. _

_I'm not sure how long I walked through the woods, it felt like hours, but I couldn't be sure, when I realized that I had no idea how to get back out of the woods. I looked all around me, but nothing looked familiar and I started to cry. Suddenly I saw a small woobat hovering close by and I called out to it, pleading for it to find help. The woobat looked at me for a second before turning deeper into the forest. I felt like the woobat wanted to help me, so I sat down in the grass and tried to remain calm and stop crying. Nightstar had curled into my lap and tried to comfort me by rubbing his head underneath my chin._

_Suddenly, I heard a rustle to the side of me from the undergrowth. I see the woobat from before hovering above me and squeeking excitedly Suddenly, a green haired boy's head popped out from the bushes and smiled at me. "Hey there you are! Will told me that a girl was lost and needed help."_

"_Will," I asked in confusion, "Who's Will?"_

"_That's Will," the boy said pointing up to the small Woobat, "and my names N! What's yours?"_

"_Ivory. I'm Ivory Greystorm and I live in Nuvema town, but I don't know how to get back there from here. Do you or Will know?"_

_N paused and thought about this for a moment before saying "I think I've heard of Nuvema town, but I've never been there before so I'll have to ask my sisters. Come with me! We can go to my home and I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."_

"_Okay," I say shakily as I rise to my feet and follow N to another Pokemon, a Darmatian, who was sitting quietly watching the both of us. Another small Pokemon that I didn't recognize came and bounded out of the bushes and jumped on top of N's head. It started to make a lot of sounds really quickly and I realized that it was talking._

"_Don't worry Trixie, this is Ivory, and she needs our help."_

_I smiled and waved tentatively at the small Pokemon and asked "What kind of Pokemon is that? I've never seen it before."_

_The little Pokemon responds quickly with a series of noises that sounded like "Zor" before N said "Don't listen to her, she just likes to be mysterious. Trixie is a Zorua!"_

"_You can talk to Pokemon?" I asked N. I'd never before heard of anyone who could talk to Pokemon except in legends and stories._

"_Yes I can… but I guess that means that you can't. That's too bad. I used to live in a place where a lot of people couldn't understand Pokemon including my father, but now I live here in the woods with my sisters and Pokemon that I forget that a lot of people don't understand Pokemon."_

"_That's really cool that you can talk to Pokemon. I wish I could. Then I could talk to Nightstar!"_

"_Well you can now! I'll just translate for you."_

_As we rode Darmatian back to N's home, me, N, Nightstar, and Trixie talked for a while. I quickly learned that Trixie was extremely sassy, and that N was eager to learn new things. By the end of the ride I already considered them good friends. _

_When we came to N's house, which looked like a rundown house with moss growing all over it and a beautiful garden in the front, I met N's sisters Concordia and Anthea. They were a lot older than me and N were, who I had found to actually be my age, especially Concordia who was already twenty-one (well they seemed a lot older to five-year-old me at the time). They made me some tea and they showed me a trail that led straight to Nuvema town. N told me that I should come back and play the next day, and I did. I came back every day until the day they were taken._

As I stare into N's eyes, I see as recognition draws on his face "Ivory? Is that you?"

I release his hand and tackle him back to the ground in a big bewear hug and say "N! Oh my Arceus, I can't believe it's actually you! It's been so long since I last saw you! How are you? What happened? Where are Anthea and Concordia?"

N laughs and quickly returns my hug with equal energy and happiness which is a relief seeing as I had just barreled him over when we haven't seen each other since we were both nine. Despite the time difference and the added height on both our sides, it felt so natural to hold him in our tight embrace. When we finally release each other, N sits up and I sit next to him. "Okay, but I'm serious N Harmonia, what happened to you and your sisters? That night that those men came and… and… took you. Are you alright? Are you in danger?"

N looks at me sadly before saying, "I know that must have been terrifying for you. I myself was scared because I didn't understand what was happening, but everything's alright. Those men that came into the forest that day actually worked for my father. My father isn't a Whisperer, so he couldn't come to see me himself. Now Anthea, Concordia and I live with my father. Well, at least I was until I came out here. I'm going on a Pokemon journey of sorts."

"What, really? Aren't you a Pokemon Whisperer, though?" As I said this, I noticed that N didn't have a pendent like I did.

"Well, I've never been registered as a Whisperer… so I think it should be fine for me to travel." I blinked at him in surprise. Honestly, I didn't think it was even legal to go unregistered as a Pokemon Whisperer, but then again, I really didn't know. Before I could say anything, I notice a young girl has approached us. She looked to be about eleven or so and she had long raven hair with a red streak running down the side of it. She looked at me for a second and looked over at Nightstar who was currently sitting in N's lap and grins before jumping into my lap.

"Um… hello?" I say kind of awkwardly. Seriously though, what would you do if a random girl came up to you and decided to sit on you. Her eyes then changed to a shade of light blue and she smiles an almost devilish grin that I would recognize from anywhere. "Trixie!" I yell and hug the girl tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again. Are Anthea and Concordia here?"

"No. They're staying home. Now tell me everything that's been happening to you since I left!"

I told him all about my own journey and about my life and what had been happening to me. N didn't tell me much about his life, even though I would have really liked to know more about it, but we did start talking about Pokemon and funny experiences he had had. He told me about the many pranks that Trixie had pulled, to which Trixie smiled proudly, and the new Pokemon and people he had meant. He also told me some funny stories of when he had first gone to a mall and some awkward conversations he had had with people when he first returned to human society after living in the woods for so long. It wasn't long before we were laughing and joking as we always had before.

I didn't even notice the stares we were receiving from Team Plasma until I glanced over at the mostly closed booths. I couldn't help but notice that all of them were staring at us, even the ones that were helping to clean up. 'Huh. That's weird,' but I didn't have time to think to much about it because right at that moment I heard Bianca call out to me from the street.

"Ivory! Hey, what's up? Oh, you've met N!"

I stare at Bianca when she said that. "You've met N?" I ask blankly.

"Yeah, he's one of the trainers. He actually beat Black in a battle!"

Now I turn to fully stare at N, "okay, what? I mean I know you said you were going on a Pokemon journey, but like an actual one? And why are you battling? That's totally not fair for anyone that challenges you because you would beat them all!" I can't help but wonder who his dad is and why in the distortion world he would be okay with his son, who is a Whisperer, to become a trainer. Since Whisperers don't even have to give a spoken command to not only stop an attack but also order an attack, it's not fair that he be able to fight against normal trainers. For all I know, N could have had poor Blade hit himself repeatedly before getting too tired.

"Huh," Bianca asks, "what are you talking about?"

"N's a Whisperer, just like me."

"My apologies," N quickly says, "I know it's not a fair fight and yes, I am a Pokemon Whisperer, but I have to make it to the league."

Bianca just stares at him for a second and says "you're a what?! Hey, that means you totally cheated and made a bunch of trainers feel bad for no reason. Did you take their money as well? You know that's against the law!" Bianca says huffily and she certainly did look angry at this.

"If you're worried about the money, don't worry, I didn't take any of it. The reason I battled those trainers was more to make a point than to do it for my own ego. People tend to listen to the victors more and I wanted to point out the fundamental flaw of sending Pokemon out to battle for you. Besides, I need to make it to the League and the only way I can do that is through earning the gym badges."

"… I'm not sure about the whole 'people will only listen to you if you beat them,' but I know you don't have to be a trainer to make it to the League. I think they have guided tours for the general public, and I'm pretty sure Whisperers can be given special permission to meet the Champion and the Elite Four if they've just completed their expedition. Why do you have to go as a trainer?"

"They won't listen to me if I don't. I want to change the very foundation of society. One day, people will no longer see Pokemon as beloved pets, but as creatures deserving of respect and admiration. We will no longer be built on the enslavement of other Pokemon, but with equality."

"Are you like a member of Team Plasma or something," Bianca asked, "I mean I feel like you're reciting some of their ideologies."

"Yes I am," N says proudly, "Team Plasma has a vision for Unova that the League cannot even hope to comprehend."

I wasn't really surprised that N was a member of Team Plasma, seeing as he could to talk to Pokemon and had basically grown up thinking they were the same as humans. However, I was surprised he felt so passionately about it. Anthea and Concordia weren't Pokemon Whisperers, even though they could speak to Pokemon like N, and they used pokeballs. I had seen them train their Pokemon for battle before. 'I guess things have changed,' I thought to myself. Not that I really mind, I kind of agree with a lot of what Team Plasma says.

"Alright then," Bianca said cheerily, trying to lighten the mood. Bianca hated confrontation of any kind and would go to great lengths to calm things down and stop any fighting. "Well Ivory, how do you know N?" After I explain to her how I know him she stares at me for a moment before saying, "Wait you mean your imaginary friends were real this entire time!" She then turns to N and asks, "does that means you can really talk to Pokemon?"

N blushes and says, "Yes, I can."

"Wow that's amazing! Anyway, Ivory it's time to go. It's already 3:22 and our bus leaves at the thirty!"

N looks at her in confusion, "it's not 3:22, it's 4:02."

"What!" Bianca exclaims as she looks down at her watch, "Oh why did I get a face watch with Roman Numerals! This thing is way hard to read!"

I can't believe so much time has passed. N and I must have been talking for a lot longer than I realized. "Well let's go to the bus stop and see if there's a bus coming any time soon."

The three of us run over to the bus station to see, to all our dismay, that the next bus didn't leave until the next morning. "Oh no!" Bianca exclaims.

"Well, Striaton City really isn't that far. If you want, we can just walk there." N suggested politely.

"Oh, I don't know. My dad would kill me if he found out I was traveling the routes. What if we get attacked by wild Pokemon," she then glanced at both me and N, "well never mind you two are Pokemon Whisperers so I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. How long does it take to get to Striaton City?"

"It's about a day's journey on foot."

"A day's journey! I might as well go to the Pokemon Center to sleep and the next morning go on the bus!"

"Don't you have any camping gear? Most of the trainers traveling around Unova on foot are going to camp along the route before going into town! It's also a really secure route so you don't have to worry," I insisted.

"Well… a part of going on Pokemon journeys is going camping in the woods with wild Pokemon so yes, of course I have camping gear, but it's just so scary!"

"Don't worry! No Pokemon will get you and you'll be experiencing your first real whiff of independence. The group you were going with barely had you do anything besides look at all the touristy spots. Now you'll be like a real Pokemon trainer!"

Bianca sighed and said, "Ivory you're like the Giratina on my shoulder. Alright, let's go."

With that we headed toward the route, passing the security around the city as we went, and entering out into the wild.

Back in Accumula town, Team Plasma had almost finished packing away the materials from the makeshift booth and were preparing to leave. Ghetsis stood by them, but instead of overseeing the workers, he stood watching three teenagers make their way out of the city. Alex, an admin within the ranks of Team Plasma, walked over to Ghetsis.

"Did you find out who that girl was?" he asked him without taking his eyes off of the three retreating figures.

"Yes, sir. She's a Whisperer by the name of Ivory Greystorm who is bonded to a shinx and she is living in Nuvema town. She is fifteen years old and going into her Sophomore year in High School. Nice girl, does well in school, and she even had a spring internship with our division in Castelia."

"How does she know N? The two seemed very… friendly."

"Well… we couldn't find anything while looking through her records that connects the two, but we turned to our own we found that there was a mention of a girl that was also in the woods when Whisperers Peter and Jackson went to retrieve N, Anthea, and Concordia. We suspect she might be the girl in the woods."

Ghetsis did not appear to react to the news, but he did say "she doesn't seem to be a particular threat, but I do want her monitored. Inform the Shadow Triad to watch her and her little friends closely. I don't want any of them interfering with our plans and least of all with N. We're far to close to success to allow that."

"Of course, my Lord. Should I inform the other sages as well."

"Not yet, unless she keeps showing up. Then we'll tell the others."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! R/R if you have any questions!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"Another picture," Bianca yelled as we got out our camping gear for the night. N and I glance at each other and laugh. Bianca has already taken over a dozen pictures already. When she found that many of the wild Pokemon naturally approached us not to attack but to greet us, she had gone crazy with taking pictures of her holding a variety of Pokemon in her arms. She had also drilled N for his entire life story, which he was still cryptic about aside from the time when he lived in the woods. She had also asked him a dozen questions about his unusual ability to understand Pokemon.

After taking yet another picture with Bianca, N and I decide to go and gather firewood for our camp. As we left and went deeper into the woods to gather wood, we fell into a comfortable silence. I remembered that had been what I had loved about N when I was a kid. I never felt I had to say anything, we were just comfortable around each other and seemed to understand when one wanted to talk or not. We could swing from talking a mile a minute to saying nearly nothing at all.

When we returned, we put all our branches in the makeshift campfire and asked Smokey to use ember on it. Soon, we had a nice blazing fire and we all huddled around it with Smokey being the closest to it.

"Okay N," Bianca said while turning to him, "since you're all out there to save Unova from the evils of the League and you're such a bleeding-heart Plasma lover, why don't we put your ideals to the test."

N smiled gently and said "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

"You can talk to Pokemon right? Well why don't you ask my enslaved Tepig, Smokey, what he thinks about his situation. If he says he hates it, I'll release him right here."

N looked up at Bianca in horror before saying, "You will do no such thing! Smokey is your starter is he not?" Bianca looked startled, but she nodded slowly. "Well that means that all he knows is what it's like to be with humans. If you release him now, he'll have no family to go to, and no skills to survive since he's always been fed by you. He'll die out here if you do that!"

"Wah!? I didn't mean it like that! Uh… okay never mind. How about you just talk to Smokey and ask him how he's feeling what about that?"

* * *

N smiled and reached his arms out to the small Tepig who was currently huddled close to Bianca. The Tepig, Smokey N reminded himself, immediately responded and jumped up and over into N's arms. _"Hi!"_ Smokey said excitedly.

N gently stroked its fuzzy, warm body which elicited an excited crooning and, _"keep doing that human!"_

"Alright Smokey, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"_Ask me anything. You won't be able to understand my answer anyway. It'll be funny to hear what stuff you say."_

"_Too bad for you,"_ Trixie said who had been napping in N's lap before being rudely awakened by an excited Tepig, _"N's the real deal and can hear everything we're saying."_

"She's right," Nightstar added helpfully.

Smokey looked N up and down before saying _"really?"_

N than said, "really" which startled Smokey by quite a bit.

"_Well okay then… what do you want to know?"_

"Do you like traveling around with Bianca?"

"_Well it's all I really know. When I was born, I was inside a lab with a lot of other humans staring at us. They helped train us a little so we wouldn't be completely weak when we met the humans whom they said would be our lifelong friends. After that, they put us into pokeballs. That was kind of weird, it's almost like your body is being disintegrated until all you have left is your conscious. If I focus hard enough, I can hear and be aware of the world outside of the pokeball, but it's much easier to instead go into the template thoughts the humans have. They're thoughts that automatically come into your head that put you into a peaceful and serene state."_

At this, Trixie shudders and says _"that's awful. I'd much rather be out here in the real world rather than stuck in some ball."_

"_Well… yes, but it's really not that bad! You don't even notice time passing."_

"And what do you think of your trainer, Bianca?" N asked quietly.

Smokey considered the question for a moment before saying, _"well I really do like her… but she also doesn't understand me very well. When we battled for the first time, we lost. I was really sad about that and wanted to train harder to become better, but Bianca didn't seem to care that we lost. When her friends were training their Pokemon, Bianca didn't train me which made me sad. I want to be stronger, I want to evolve, but I guess I'll end up being a Tepig my whole life. Other than that though, Bianca is super kind and loving. I'm lucky to be with such a kind trainer."_

N leaned back and thought about that for a moment. He was used to hearing Pokemon wanting to be stronger and how Pokemon adored their trainers, who wanted to please them in every way possible. Almost every Pokemon he encountered which had been caught by a trainer were submissive, loving, and devoted to their trainer. However, this included Pokemon that were abused, neglected, exploited, or used by criminals like Team Rocket. Team Plasma's Whisperer division, which he was a part of, often brought in Pokemon that hadn't been released from their pokeballs in years only to pine for their neglectful trainers. He had heard Pokemon justifying their trainers' actions when they had committed crimes and he had seen Pokemon work themselves to exhaustion only to reprimand themselves for not being strong enough for their trainers.

Yes, N was well aware of the love Pokemon and trainer's shared for each other, no matter how twisted it might be, but what he rarely saw was genuine friendship between Pokemon and trainer. Most often it was complete devotion from the Pokemon and condescending affection from the trainer. The trainers he had met at the fair had all adored their Pokemon, but few of them thought past how strong they were or how cute and snuggly they were.

It was nothing like the relationship he shared with Trixie. Trixie would often have insightful comments on the people they met, make either hilarious or snarky remarks, or disagree with N's decisions when she thought he was doing something dumb. Often Trixie would leave and pull pranks of her own or she would convince N to join in on it. Trixie was her own person with her own thoughts and personality. Even though N knew Trixie was an exception because she was bonded to him, N could tell that none of the captured Pokemon had quite as much personality or even intelligence. N preferred wild Pokemon to captured ones, because he could see from the gleam in their eyes and the words they said, that they were far more intelligent than captured Pokemon ever could be.

N smiled at Smokey one last time before setting him down by the campfire. "So," Bianca asked eagerly, "What did Smokey say to you. Also, you didn't ask him on his stance of Team Plasma. You should ask him about that!"

Smokey eagerly turned to N to answer the question Bianca had presented. _"To be honest, I don't really understand what Team Plasma's position is. I think I heard something about thinking of Pokemon as people, but I didn't really understand that. People and Pokemon are different, aren't they? We can't communicate to you like Pokemon can amongst themselves or humans amongst each other."_

"And that's the problem!" N interjected, "We assume because Pokemon biology and language is different that we are incompatible outside of subjugating one species to the other. Wild Pokemon believe the same thing about humans. It's why the more powerful and intelligent Pokemon will kill any human that encroaches on their territory. However, if we could find a way to bridge the gap between Pokemon and humans, then perhaps we could learn to create a better society with treaties and more peaceful interactions."

Ivory and Bianca look over at N in surprise before Ivory said, "Well whatever Smokey said sure did get a reaction out of you."

N smiled at Ivory and said, "yes you could say that," he then turned to address Bianca saying simply "Smokey loves you, but he does want to get stronger. Perhaps you should try training him. I normally don't really approve of Pokemon battles, but I think that Smokey would enjoy that. Also, Smokey doesn't really have much of an opinion on Team Plasma, but he does think of Pokemon and humans as different. That's the part you heard."

Bianca looked at Smokey before hugging him and saying, "Smokey, I had no idea you felt that way! I promise to try and train you."

* * *

The next day we arrived at Striaton City. It was much bigger than Accumula Town, but it still wasn't unbearably large. It was here that me, Bianca, and N decided to temporarily part ways. Bianca said before we left, "I know that we have our own things to do here in Striaton, but I had so much fun traveling with you guys that I thought… well I really want to travel with you both more! Especially after what N said about Smokey wanting to be stronger…well I've decided to the Distortion World with my boring exploratory group. I want to make this journey to be about friends and getting closer to my Pokemon!"

I laughed and quickly embraced Bianca, "of course I want to travel with you Bianca! Especially with those two eggheads ditching us already," I was referring to my brother and Cheren. Before we got into town, both Bianca and I had received a text from them saying they had gotten their first badge and were already heading out to Nacrene City. I then turned expectantly to N and said, "this also better not be the last time I see you for several years. You are not doing that to me again."

N smiled and shook his head, "I would never do that to you; besides I also had a lot of fun. It was nice to spend time with my best friend of my childhood and make a new friend in Bianca."

I smile and say, "Alright, well that's decided, but when do you guys want to leave. I'm working with Professor Fennel for the next couple of days in the Dreamyard, but what will you both do in the meantime?"

"I'm going to train Smokey and fight the Striaton City gym leaders," Bianca says proudly.

"I have several… meetings to attend to so I should be fine," N says quietly.

With that, we part ways and I find myself heading towards Professor Fennel's lab. I already like Striaton City, with its tall buildings and yet old-fashioned style. It's so different from small Nuvema town where the only people who really live there are scientists that work in Professor Juniper's lab. I look at my phone again to make sure I have the right address Professor Juniper had sent me before heading into one of the many tall buildings.

Inside, I see a reception desk and some security guards standing next to an elevator. I walk up to the receptionist and say: "Hey, my name's Ivory Greystorm. Professor Juniper contacted you earlier to tell you I was coming."

The receptionist typed my name into her computer and said "Ah, you're the Pokemon Whisperer Fennel was talking about. Yes, here's your security clearance and you can go on up now if you want. Fennel will sure be excited to see you. Not many Whisperers know about a lab this small, so they don't usually come here."

"Thanks," I say while I grab the card the woman handed to me. I turned around and headed toward the elevator where the guard let me through. 'This really is a small lab,' I think to myself as I see that the actual lab only covers one floor in the entire building, 'but they still have a lot of security.'

When I reach the floor of the lab, I walk in and am immediately greeted by a super friendly woman with long black hair, glasses, and a white lab coat. "You must be Ivory! Come in. Come in. You too… um what was your shinx's name again?"

"His name is Nightstar."

"Nightstar. Nice to meet you, too" Nightstar responds by jumping down from my shoulder to the floor and rubbing against her leg.

"He likes you. Not everyone gets such a nice greeting."

"Ahh! I'm flattered. Well, no time to waste. Professor Juniper told me you were doing a sort of Pokemon journey through internships and you'll only be here for a few days. Which means we've got to do as much as we can while you're here with us. Ivory, my name is Fennel and I'm here studying the effects of dreams both within humans and in Pokemon. Specifically, how these dreams can draw trainers and Pokemon closer together. Dreams are something shared by both us and Pokemon and I'm hoping that we may be able to gain some more insight into a Pokemon's psyche by studying their dreams. It's already been determined that Pokemon speak and think completely differently than humans do, making it nearly impossible to communicate with each other. We hope to be able to form better communication between Pokemon and humans through these experiments."

"That sounds awesome! I hope you learn some cool stuff from all this. What is it that you want me to do in all this? Calm a Pokemon down so that it'll go to sleep?"

"No of course not! You see we study Pokemon and human's dreams through the Pokemon Musharna's dream mist and then have a Munna use the move dream eater on them so we can view and record their dreams. The only problem is, we're constantly running out of dream mist and we'll need as much as we can get."

I understand why they want me now. For some reason, a caught Musharna can't produce as potent of dreams as a wild one could. No one quite understood why some Pokemon lost certain abilities when they were caught, but some people suspected it was because the Pokemon no longer needs to defend itself against other dangerous Pokemon predators. I can also understand why there would be so much security guarding this tiny lab. Dream Mist is really potent stuff and is worth quite a bit. If properly treated, it could help an insomniac get some sleep, but on the other hand, treated in a different way and Dream Mist becomes more like a drug to get high on or a tool to knock people unconscious. Either way, it's difficult to get because Musharna does not make a lot of Dream Mist on a regular basis.

"Okay, so we find Musharna, but where are they to begin with."

"There are a few Musharna that live in the old Dreamyard where the main Unova lab used to be. However, some scientists did not properly secure the wild Musharna and they escaped. They created a form of Dream Mist, known as Nightmare Mist, that causes anyone to experience horrible hallucinations and feel like they're in a living nightmare. The scientist who experienced this went crazy and attacked each other along with burning down the entire lab. It was truly awful. Most of the Musharna fled the area, but some of them stayed and those are the ones that we'll have to see."

"Oh my Arceus! That's terrible! I had no idea that something like that happened."

"Yes, well all we can do is learn and move on from our mistakes. Now, we're sure not to keep the Musharna in captivity and allow them to wander around free. The only problem is, we can only get Dream Mist with a Whisperer and there are already so few of them and most of them don't come here. Which is why we're so happy that you're here! We'll use these next few days to gather as much Dream Mist as we can and stock up for the future."

* * *

"Yes, I did it!" Bianca yelled in excitement as she did a little happy dance. After training with Smokey for a couple of days and catching a new Lilipup whom she named Fluffy, she decided to go and challenge the Gym. She had been scared when she learned that she would have to fight against a Pokemon with a type advantage, but Fluffy had pulled through for her and she had won the battle. Barely, but she still had done it.

Smokey and Fluffy also appeared to be very happy at their recent victory and they joined their trainer in her celebratory dance. At this display, the Gym Leader, Cress, laughed and said, "well you deserved it. I can see you worked very hard to strengthen and level up your Pokemon so that they could overpower my Pokemon. Here's your badge," he said handing her the trio badge, "now, you're a new trainer so I'll explain what the Gyms are meant for. You probably already know that Gyms are a way to guide young Pokemon trainers to become stronger."

"Yeah," Bianca piped in, "having strong enough Pokemon will help me defend myself against wild Pokemon and bad guys!"

"Exactly. Gym leaders will also give advice on battling and training after observing a trainer in battle, which is what I'll do for you. Bianca, like I said, you worked really hard to train your Pokemon so much so that they are both at much higher levels than my two Pokemon that I use for first badge trainers. However, I noticed that you don't really use strategy all that much during the fight. You only told the Pokemon to attack with basically the same move over and over again. You never really directed the Pokemon or told the Pokemon where to hit. You also haven't really trained your Pokemon to dodge attacks or how to recover when they did get hit. You and your Pokemon mainly won through sheer force. I say this, not to upset you, but to remind you that the point of Pokemon battles is not to see which Pokemon packs a bigger punch. Rather, your goal is to prevent your Pokemon from getting harmed as much as possible and doing the most damage to the other opponent. When your Pokemon hits an opponent, you want to make sure it counts and doesn't hurt your own in the process."

Bianca looked dazed at the speech and said, "so you're saying I need to fight more carefully."

"More accurately is more like it. The next Gym Leader, Lenora, is a normal type specialist and she's quite a challenge. Her Watchhog makes most new trainers cry so be careful. I would recommend getting a fighting type Pokemon before fighting her."

Bianca still looked confused, but she smiled and said "Thanks for the tips! I'll try to use them as much as possible." She then turned around and practically skipped out of the Gym and restaurant.

"Thank goodness she's not aiming to take on the League," Chili said abruptly.

"Chili! Don't be so rude. She could turn around and be a great Pokemon trainer," Cilan chided his brother.

"Well she'll have to improve a lot. Cress forgot to mention that all her commands were delayed and that she got too emotionally invested during the battle causing her not to think straight."

"Well at least she was better than that green haired kid," Cress said coldly, "that kid started shouting out commands Purrloin doesn't even learn like pounce. I still can't believe that he beat me and my Pokemon with just that one."

"Maybe you're losing your touch. I mean I know that the Pokemon we use are pretty weak for the first badge, but that doesn't mean we can't use strategy," Chili said teasingly.

"Hey. Who got to the Elite Four first when we were on our journeys" Cress snapped back at him.

"Anyways," Cilan interrupted, "it looks like we've got a new challenger. Let's stop bickering, please." And with that, the brothers turned to their next opponent.

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the Chapter! Something that's always bothered me in the games is that if N can talk to Pokemon, why doesn't he just ask them if they want to be liberated. I imagined that N would probably hear a lot of Pokemon saying they want to stay with their trainer. I then remembered that in the anime there's an episode where Team Rocket's Pokemon don't want to fight Pikachu and the others because they weren't bad but their masters were. I kind of think that's messed up that Pokemon will do bad things just because their trainer tells them to. This also ties back to something Colress said in B2W2 which is that Pokemon bond with their trainers through pokeballs. I kind of imagined captured Pokemon are able to form a superficial bond with their trainers that attempts to mimic what Ivory and Nightstar have for each other. I also thought Pokemon that are in captivity are less intelligent than wild ones because that's the same thing that happens in real life with domesticated and wild animals.**

**I'm really bad at writing battles so I skip over most of them. Sorry! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! R/R for any questions, feelings, or criticisms you have about the story!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The days had passed by like a blur, at the Striaton dream lab. I had spent most of my times out in the dream yard coaxing Musharna to make Dream Mist, which was actually a lot more fun than it seems. When Musharna makes Dream Mist, it typically needs to make a dream of sorts to go with it, which meant that I got to see a lot of random illusions that Musharna, whom I named Lila after the second day, made up for me. One time, Lila made an illusion of some Pokemon doing a dance show, some knights beating up a Munna, and even my friends and family acting silly after I showed her a picture of them.

It was also fun because we got to explore the old Dreamyard and the ruins of the old lab. It was really cool and surprisingly peaceful for a place with such a violent history. On the last day, Bianca came to join me and show me her new badge that she got.

"Wow Bianca! That's great," I hadn't seen her all that much these last few days. The lab had provided a room for me and she was busy training Pokemon while I was busy gathering Dream Mist. I hadn't really seen N all that much either, but we had been texting each other while we were apart. He hadn't really told me what the meetings he went to were about, but he did seem really interested in hearing all about the Dreamyard.

"Hey Bianca, do you want to go explore the Dreamyard!"

"Yes! Is it okay though? When I was training, they told me I couldn't go there to train because the Musharna were dangerous. But you want to know the real reason they don't let you go in?"

"Sure, Fennel never really talked about that, so I don't know."

"Well, when I looked it up, apparently Musharna are surprisingly gentle and docile. They just use Dream Mist to scare away any attackers. The real reason they don't want people to go there is because there are people who will scare the Musharna for Dream Mist and then use it to make drugs and sell it on the black market. Isn't that terrible!"

"Yeah, no wonder the place is off limits."

"I know right! But it's also pretty stupid of the trainers if you ask me. Some of the reports said that the trainers died here because the Musharna would start attacking rather than just scaring them away."

We wandered around the old ruins in silence for a few moments before coming around a corner and seeing two figures hunched over a Munna and a Musharna. The pokemon were not particularly distressed. In fact, they seemed rather peaceful and at ease, but that didn't change the fact that the two shouldn't be here.

Bianca and I glanced at each other before walking over to get a better look at what they were doing. We saw a Pikachu standing around and doing a little jig while the two gathered the Dream Mist that was emanating and falling from the Musharna into several little jars.

"Hey!" I yell at them "What in the Distortion World are you doing?"

The two intruders glance up at me and Bianca and quickly put the remaining Dream Mist into their bag. They walk over to us, leaving the Musharna and Munna behind. I see now that one of them is a man and the other a woman in about their mid thirties with short ginger hair. They glare at us and the woman says, "I could ask you two the same thing."

"I'm currently working with the Striaton dream scientists on collecting Dream Mist. It looks like you two are doing the same thing… only that's completely illegal."

The man smirked and said, "go home kiddies. This is adult business that I don't expect you would understand."

"Oh, I get it. I'm just not sure whether you're drug dealers or total stoners. Now get out of here and leave the Dream Mist or I'll call the police," I growl at them.

"You insolent brat! You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"Oh yeah, enlighten me. Are you a part of Team Rocket? I thought they were more Pokemon stealers than drug dealers."

That shut them up. Instead of arguing further, they started pulling out their pokeballs before Nightstar jumped in front of us and started growling menacingly and I said "I wouldn't do that if I were you." They looked at Nightstar and then up at me and I saw their eyes fall on my pin.

"Whisperer… hmm," the woman says as she returns her pokeballs to her belt. "Well you may have won this fight, but we're not going to give up the Dream Mist." With that she brought out what looked like a small white ball which she threw down to the ground. Immediately, smoke filled the small area we were standing.

By the time the smoke finally cleared, the two were gone. The Musharna and Munna approached the two of us to see if to see if we were okay. Nightstar jumped into my arms and looked over at the direction of the collapsed entrance to the old lab. I didn't see anyone there, but those two thugs still made me nervous.

Bianca, who had been hiding behind me this entire time, shakily asked "are they gone? It looks like they took that bag of Dream Mist with them, but at least they didn't hurt Musharna or Munna." The Munna that had been hovering around us came up and snuggled on Bianca's hat to comfort her.

"We should go back to the lab and tell Fennel what happened. We might need to file a police report as well."

"Okay. Oh, this one is so cute though," Bianca said while hugging the small Munna. "I think I might catch it. What do you say Munna?"

I could tell that the Munna didn't fully understand what she was saying. A common misconception people had was that wild Pokemon could completely understand human speech. However, my dad, who studied Pokemon for a living, told me that he thinks most wild Pokemon can understand us just as much as we can understand them. Munna could tell that Bianca was scared, but she couldn't understand the words she was saying. However, when a Pokemon was captured, the Pokemon could comprehend human speech to a much larger degree. I'm not quite sure why that is and I made a mental note to ask N about it. I addressed the Munna and said, "hey Munna, my friend here, Bianca, wants you to come with her on an adventure. You'll have to leave home and this Dreamyard." Munna floated over to me and stared at me for a moment before understanding lit up in its little eyes and it excitedly bobbed up and down in what I felt was agreement. "Munna wants to go with you as well Bianca."

"Really! Great! Oh, you'll have to stay in this pokeball though if that's okay." Munna glanced back at me and then turned to Bianca and made the same motion as before. Bianca saw this and excitedly jumped up and down, "yay!"

Munna then floated over to the Musharna and appeared to communicate something to the other. Musharna must have replied, but I have no idea what it said. The Musharna than left and Munna returned to Bianca who then placed a pokeball on its pink body followed by a red light that surrounded the Pokemon and then it disappeared. The pokeball didn't even shake before we heard the click confirming it had been caught.

"Wow Ivory, you should come with me to capture my other three Pokemon! That was so much easier than catching Fluffy! I had to battle it and use two pokeballs before I could catch her. Okay, I'm going to check her stats," Bianca said as she pulled out her pokedex. "It's a girl and she has a naïve nature. Her special ability is forewarn and she has level 10 to 11 power."

"I had no idea that the pokedex could do that! Well, anyway we really should get back to the lab. The faster we can report those thugs, the faster the police can catch them."

We return to the lab and tell Fennel all about what happened. "That's terrible and kind of weird. I'll ask you more about it after we tell the police."

The officers that come to the lab get our description of the man and woman. "They're gingers. You can't miss them," I insist.

The officers laugh at this before saying, "well we'll keep our eyes peeled for any red heads we see, but I'm more worried about the fact that they might be in an organization. Team Rocket has only been spotted around these areas after the immediate destruction of the lab. We suspect that they may have stolen some of the research as well as the Nightmare Mist that the Musharnas created. Besides, this doesn't really seem to be their MO. They might be a different crime organization. We'll have to investigate more into this."

"There's one more thing, officer," Fennel spoke up, "Ivory and Bianca told me that the Musharna and Munna appeared to be calm while these people… whoever they are… collected the Dream Mist. That's impossible. Musharna and Munna will remain hidden unless attacked in which case they will either use a psychic attack or Dream Mist to drive away intruders. The point I'm trying to make is that no trainer could have gotten those Pokemon to do what Ivory and Bianca described unless there was a Pokemon Whisperer involved."

The room went very quiet. A Whisperer going rogue was big news. It was extremely difficult to take a Whisperer down seeing as they could win any fight against normal trainers and police officers, they could use the Pokemon they were bonded to against any opposing human who didn't have a Pokemon on them. Not to mention all the destruction a Whisperer could potentially bring. The most mild and common misdemeanor of Whisperers was rigging battles so a certain trainer or even themselves could win a battle. More serious involved using wild Pokemon to attack banks and other people. I'd even heard of a case where a Whisperer had used a psychic type Pokemon to hypnotize and control another human to do their bidding. One of the reasons Whisperers were so heavily monitored were because we're so powerful and potentially dangerous.

"We'll have to inform the League immediately," the officer says quietly, "they'll need to be made aware of this… group. Whoever they may be."

"Let's call them Team Smoke!" Bianca interjects, "I mean they did use a smoke ball on us to escape. It can change if they ever feel like telling us who they actually are."

"You know, I kind of like it," Fennel says with a laugh.

With that, the officers thank us for our time and leave the lab.

"Did you get the Dream Mist?"

"Yes Sage Ryoku. However, we were only able to obtain eleven jars before being detained."

"What! What happened?"

"While collecting Dream Mist, two girls came and saw what we were doing. They thought we were taking the Dream Mist in order to make drugs. They have no idea who we are or our affiliation with Team Plasma, but I'm still worried that they actually contacted the police."

Ryoku said nothing for a moment before letting out a sigh and saying, "this could be very bad. How much did they see? Did they see you or Kyoto?" Ryoku asked a man standing next to the duo.

"No. Kyoto," he said gesturing to his Lucario standing faithfully next to him, "sensed something off and went to investigate and I had decided to go with him and leave the two to finish gathering the Dream Mist. I'm glad that I did though. I recognized one of the girls, well at least her Shinx. She was only a little girl when I saw her in Discordian Wood with N Harmonia, but she's definitely the same one. I don't doubt she would have recognized me if she had seen me."

"That's one of the reasons we didn't eliminate the two when they saw our operations. Not only would she have turned our Pokemon against us, the death or harm of a Whisperer would have brought on too much heat. The only problem is, they saw how we gathered the Dream Mist. If the police know, they've probably made the connection that a Whisperer is involved."

"Which means the League will get involved and start an investigation," Ryoku said worriedly, "it's far too soon for the League to begin having even an inkling of what's happening. We still haven't retrieved the Light Stone, our forces are ill prepared, we need to gather more support, and we don't have access to the eight new gym badges which allow access to the Pokemon League."

Ryoku paused for a second, weighing his options. "Despite this, we still have to press forward with our plans. Alex and Jenna," he said addressing the red heads, "continue on to Nacrene City and report to Sage Gorm. He's in charge of the attack on Nacrene Museum and you two are some of our best operatives and trainers. We'll need your assistance there and perhaps we can use this blunder to our advantage. As for you Peter and Kyoto, report back to Castelia City."

"Yes Sage Ryoku," the three say immediately and even Kyoto salutes to him before turning and going to their respective destinations.

**A/N: In this AU Team Plasma does not dress up like knights (except on official occasions) and they certainly don't wear it when they might be caught breaking the law. I always thought it was funny that in the game, Ghetsis tries to convince Accumula Town that Team Plasma is right and by the very next town and every time after that they're found breaking the law. There will still be hints about what the game originally did (like when Ivory saw some knights beating up a Munna from the Dream Mist) throughout the fanfiction.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"We're finally setting off for Nacrene City!" Bianca yelled enthusiastically, "I'm going to train and work really hard to get my Pokemon levelled up and work on my technique to beat the next gym leader!" and, as if to add emphasis, she jumps and fist pumps.

I laugh at Bianca's excitement, "alright. Plus, Nacrene City is a lot further away than Striaton City was. That means you'll have a lot of time to train!"

"I know right! I heard Lenora's really tough though, so I have to be prepared!"

We walk over to where N was sitting on a bench in the garden area on the border between Striaton and the next route. His back is to us, so he can't see us, but I can tell he's on the phone with someone. As we approach, I can hear him say "… yes, I'm sure not to mention it to anyone… She wouldn't tell anyone… yes, I'm headed to Nacrene City now."

Bianca and I step into his view at this point and he glances up and smiles at the both of us before saying to whomever was on the phone, "okay I have to go now, goodbye." He hung up and looked up at us, "are you ready to go?"

"Yes, sorry about the delay. You'll never believe what happened to us," I say and then proceeded to tell him all about our encounter with Team Smoke, as me and Bianca have started calling them, and Bianca interrupted me a lot to add some important details or random descriptions.

"Wow, I can't believe that happened to you two," N said in horror. "The way they exploited those Pokemon for something so terrible as drug use!"

"Um… yeah," I say awkwardly. No need to mention that I was there doing the same thing just in the name of science.

"Guess what! I got a Pokemon from all this," Bianca said excitedly, "She's a Munna and I named her Moon! When we get on the route, I'll take her out and show you. By the way, where's Trixie?"

N then said, "I'm actually not really sure, maybe we should head out and we'll run into her on the way."

Bianca looked confused at this, "that's weird. I thought you two were like bonded. Nightstar is always with Ivory, I kind of figured she'd always hang out with you."

I silently agreed with Bianca and glanced around the garden suspiciously. Bonded Pokemon always stayed with their Whisperers no matter what. It's why I could legally have Nightstar with me wherever I went.

"Oh, she's still here she just likes to stay hidden because she's not that comfortable around strangers," N reassures us and ushers us over towards the gate leading to the next route.

We exit the gate and Bianca announces, "guys, if I see a trainer, I'm going to battle them so you both have to put on your special glasses so that my Pokemon can get proper experience!"

"Is that really necessary," N said looking slightly annoyed.

"Yes, it is! Unlike some people, I can't just talk to Pokemon and politely ask them to let my Pokemon win. I have to win fair and square!"

"You aren't winning anything," N says flatly, "it's your Pokemon who are forced to hurt their fellow Pokemon and at the same time get hurt themselves."

Bianca rolled her eyes and said, "Oh come on. In a study done by Professor Rowan, it proved that wild Pokemon routinely battle each other to get stronger which is why evolution occurs naturally in the wild. Wild Pokemon need to train in order to become stronger and fight off predators or competing tribes that might wander into their territory."

"Yes, but they aren't forced to fight. They have the freedom to choose whether they want to run or fight, not when they're with a trainer. A trainer can just push the Pokemon as much as they want, and when the Pokemon's out of energy it can be revived and sent out to fight again."

"Another study said that Pokemon with trainers are more effective at battling and winning than wild Pokemon. This is most likely because humans can evaluate a battle more clearly and give commands that will be more effective than what a Pokemon would normally do. Captured Pokemon also tend to be healthier and live longer than wild Pokemon! You see N," Bianca said smugly, "while you were away doing whatever and Ivory was working at the lab, I was training and researching Plasma arguments and counterarguments. Now I'm totally prepared for whatever you have to say!"

N actually looked impressed that she had done that and was about to say something else, when all of a sudden, a guy dressed like a Samurai jumped out at us swinging a sword. Bianca and I both screamed, and Bianca swiveled around and started running faster than I've seen her go before towards the gate. Nightstar had instinctively jumped in front of me and sent an electric shock towards the Samurai. When the electric shock hit, the man's image shimmered and disappeared revealing a small Zorua who was currently wriggling on the ground in what looked to be laughter.

I hear N start to laugh next to me. I turn to him and say, "Did you two plan this?"

N feigned a look of shock and betrayal, "you think that I would have something to do with this?"

"Absolutely," now I've started to laugh. "Now we'll have to get Bianca back."

Trixie said something and N translated, "she says it was worth it and I can't help but agree with her."

When Bianca returns, she seems a little annoyed and hurt by the prank, but she quickly got over it and started to laugh as well. We continued along the route, came across a daycare that took care of trainer's Pokemon (which N scathingly called a legalized form of Pokemon abandonment. Bianca and I were careful not to mention that a breeder also worked there and would help trainer's breed their Pokemon. Arceus knows what he has to say about breeders) and a preschool where children were outside pretending to be Pokemon.

Before I knew it, it was nightfall and we were setting up camp. Bianca pulled out her pokeballs and let her Pokemon go free as we prepared dinner for the night. "I'm kind of sad that I didn't run into any trainers and I didn't get to fight any wild Pokemon. You two probably don't even realize the effect you have on Pokemon, but I can tell you that when I'm not with you, Pokemon can be aggressive and mean. You don't have to walk too far out into the woods before you get attacked. Anyway, let's eat! I'm so hungry!"

Bianca set bowls of pokefood on the ground for her Pokemon and then came over to where me, N, Nightstar, and Trixie were seated at the picnic bench we had found. "Okay, N I have a couple of points to make against Team Plasma. First of all, when I captured Moon, she wanted to come with me from the Dreamyard. If Pokemon don't want to be with humans, why did she want to come with me?"

"I didn't say that Pokemon didn't want to be with humans. I'm aware that there are several instances of weaker Pokemon approaching human settlements in order to be captured. However, those Pokemon usually feel they had no place among their fellow Pokemon, either because they were too weak or because they had no other Pokemon they felt close to."

"See! They chose to be with humans! Isn't that proof enough that people and Pokemon should be together."

"Those Pokemon had nothing in their original world, which is why they chose to enter a life of slavery and servitude. They knew their chances were better with humans than not."

"N don't be ridiculous! They're not slaves or gladiators or whatever you call them! They're our friends and both human and Pokemon life improves when we're together."

At this I'm surprised when N actually gets angry and slams his fist down on the table, "are they really your friends Bianca? You need not look beyond the arrangement we're currently in now. If you are such good friends, why are your Pokemon eating on the ground while we're here at the table. If that isn't a show of superiority and dominance than I don't know what is."

I'm shocked by N's bold statement… but I know he's right. I look over at Nightstar who is currently sitting on the bench next to me with a plate of food on the table like the rest of us. I'd never really thought about how most Pokemon were expected to eat on the floor. When I was younger, we had a Purrloin who would always eat in the corner while the rest of us sat at the table. Now that I'm thinking about it, another memory came to mind. One time, my family and I had decided to go to a Pokemon café in Castelia where people could release their Pokemon and eat together. I remember that the Pokemon still ate on the floor (I mean they had cute little cushions they could sit on, but still) while we got a table.

Bianca's startled, but she quickly regains her composure and says, "you're right. They should be able to sit here with us, or I should be sitting there with them." She then picks up the bowls and sets them on the table. Fluffy and Smokey excitedly jump onto the bench and Moon hovers around her food.

N smiles and says, "they're saying it's really cool to be eating with the humans. You see Bianca, my dream for the ideal world would be not for people and Pokemon to be altogether separate, rather, for them to be equals. I want to see a world where all Pokemon sit at the table together, where Pokemon are extended the same legal rights as us and can choose what they want to do. I know that isn't possible right now, but I hope to change society to think more on the terms of 'how can we communicate with them' rather than 'how can I control them?'"

"How will you do that?" Bianca asked quietly, "I mean if people and Pokemon are to be treated as equals, several species would be treated as murderers because they hunt and kill other Pokemon. Are you going to force them to eat tofu or something? And what about aggressive Pokemon that attack because they want to?"

"Of course, there will be exceptions. The law would instead make it so that Pokemon should not kill needlessly meaning they can hunt to kill, but not for the sake of sport or joy, only for nourishment. I also hope to have scientists try to focus more on finding a way for humans to more easily communicate with Pokemon. If we can do that, it will be so much easier to see each other as sentient creatures on the same level."

"Scientists are working on that," I say, "Professor Fennel is trying to use dreams to understand Pokemon better. It's not like they're not doing anything. They're working hard, but it's still really difficult."

N considered this for a moment before saying, "…well I hope to help scientists with that personally. I'm one of the only people who can actually talk to them so I might as well help in any way I can."

Bianca and I don't say anything for a while. Finally Bianca says, "you know N, I have no idea how you're going to get everyone on board with your dream, but I kind of hope you can do it. And that's coming from me!"

"Don't worry Bianca," N said smiling, "I'm already working on fulfilling that dream."

* * *

The next day, N and I were walking together through the woods. Bianca had gone off to train her Pokemon by herself and Nightstar and Trixie were off playing together further ahead of us. I hoped Nightstar would be alright, Trixie could play dirty.

"N," I say quietly, "could you teach me how to speak to Pokemon?"

N glanced over at me and said "I can certainly try, but it's very difficult. I've had several friends ask me for the same thing and none of them have been able to do it."

I stared at him for a moment, "you're so lucky. You were just born being able to understand them."

N actually looked a little sad at this, "it's also a bit of a curse. Just like how everything in this world is both good and bad. Even though it's incredible that I can understand them, it makes it almost painful to be around humans. Since they can't understand them, they'll ask me to constantly translate for them, which is exhausting, or they'll get frustrated because all they'll hear is a one-sided conversation when I'm talking to Pokemon, or they'll think I'm insane. It's one of the reasons I don't tell anyone that I can talk to Pokemon."

"Huh… that does sound lousy. I can see how always being asked to translate is annoying. Sorry about ever harassing you into translating for me. But, if I could talk to Pokemon, then it wouldn't be a one-way conversation! So start explaining."

N sighed before saying, "it helps that you're a Whisperer. This will make a lot more sense and you already pretty much understand Nightstar.

"To start, Pokemon do not communicate like humans in any shape or form. Human language works with signs and symbols to indicate their meaning. For example," N said pointing toward a tree, "that there is a tree. I have given that object a designated sign to show what I mean, in this case the word 'tree.' Now whenever I say the word 'tree,' people know what I'm talking about. If you listen to Pokemon speech pattern, you'll notice that they don't have different words for different objects. They'll sometimes speak in a cacophony of different versions of their names, but that is more likely a habit picked up from observing humans.

"Have you noticed, Ivory, that maintaining eye contact is vital if you want to get Pokemon to do things for you or express yourself in any way?" I remembered how Moon had only really responded to me when she had looked into my eyes and I nodded in agreement. "I don't think that Pokemon communicate by looking at each, rather, they have an inner voice and thoughts that they can choose to express to the Pokemon around them."

"Kind of like telepathy?"

"Yes and no. Telepathy involves transferring one's thoughts to another via psychic powers, whereas this inner voice is the way Pokemon speak. Do you remember when you bonded with Nightstar?"

Of course, I remembered when we bonded, every Whisperer did. When I had been given Nightstar as a young Shinx, I had fallen in love with him right away, but it wasn't until my grandfather told me that he had to take him away that I realized I never wanted to be without him. I cried and cried and refused to give my grandpa Nightstar. Eventually, grandpa managed to take him away and was about to confine him to a pokeball when I grabbed Nightstar and ran out of the house. It was then that I looked down at Nightstar and Nightstar looked up at me and I felt something so strong that I could never fully put it into words. It was like our hearts were not just connected, our hearts were one in the same and in that moment, I knew and understood everything about Nightstar. It was when I learned that Nightstar's real name was Nightstar (I had named him Sparky when I had first got him. What can I say? I was three) and knew that he had parents and siblings. It was when I understood that he was normally a happy-go-lucky kind of Pokemon and that he loved being scratched under his chin. It was also in that moment that both of us promised to stay by each other's side and protect each other. My brother said that it sounded more like a marriage than a friendship, but I would go further to say it was like finding a soul mate.

"In that moment did you hear any words?"

"No. It was more like a wave of emotions, images, and sounds, but I understood everything perfectly."

"That's how I think Pokemon communicate. There's simply an understanding between Pokemon even though no words are used."

"Is that what you feel when you talk to Pokemon?"

To my surprise N shakes his head and says "no, I hear it all in English. It's almost like I have a built-in translator in my mind. I sometimes think it's so that I'm not overwhelmed by a completely foreign way of speaking. What's fascinating though, is I've read about stories about children who were actually raised by Pokemon, and they still can't understand Pokemon. It's more like they're so used to their mannerisms that they know what the Pokemon want, but if that same person meets a species of Pokemon they've never seen before, they are no longer able to understand. I don't know what makes me and my sisters so different from everyone else, but that's just how it is."

"Then how do you know about all this 'inner voice' thing?"

"I felt it when I bonded to Trixie and I've asked the Pokemon about it."

"That's really incredible, but I still would like to try to learn!"

**A/N: Something that's always bothered me in the anime is that the Pokemon always eat on the ground. Even Ash's mom's Mr. Mime does when he cooks all the food. N: "slave labor!" I also personally can't think of a good reason for Pokemon to fight each other besides making wild Pokemon genuinely dangerous. I mean no matter how much your Pokemon love to fight, that still feel like it should be illegal. You can have Pokemon, but don't pit them against each other to a fight to the faint. This AU makes a little more sense and goes in favor of the League. **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that this explained more on what it means for a Whisperer to be bonded to their Pokemon! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The next morning N busily packed away his gear into his backpack when his phone went off. N quickly grabbed it and glanced over at Bianca and Ivory who were putting away their sleeping bags. N quietly slipped away from their makeshift campsite and answered his phone.

"My Lord N," Gorm of the seven sages said to him, "your presence is required in Nacrene City."

"Why?"

"We believe we have found the Light Stone and we require your assistance in identifying whether or not it does contain the spirit of the great Reshiram."

"I'll come as soon as I can, but I'm about a day's distance away."

"Oh, we know Lord N, it's why we've already sent a car to pick you up. If you head straight to the main road you should find our car."

N sighed. 'I shouldn't be surprised they know where I am,' N thought to himself, 'after all my phone has GPS, I have the Shadow Triad following me everywhere, I still see members of Team Plasma subtly watching me from a distance, and the Sages are always wanting constant updates.' Not that N wasn't used to it, he was constantly monitored ever since he was brought back home by his father. He knew it was for his safety, but it was a little overbearing.

He was excited though that they might have identified the Light Stone. Team Plasma already had the Dark Stone in their possession, but the Light Stone would ensure their successful takeover of Unova. With Team Plasma officially installed as the governing force, barbaric practices like League Tournaments could be disbanded and he could finally shape the Region and eventually the world into his ideal one.

N returned to where their camp had been, but now Ivory and Bianca were fully packed and ready to go. Ivory turned at his approach and smiled happily. He couldn't help but notice how the light gently seemed to glow around her highlighting the reddish tints in her thick dark hair. She walked towards him and touched his arm causing his heart to flutter and race. "Are you okay," she asked quietly in her gentle voice, her beautifully bright blue eyes looking at him in concern. It was strange, he had never felt this way around Ivory when they were both children. What was so different this time?

"Um… oh yes, I have some bad news. I have to reach Nacrene City earlier than when we'll arrive, so I have to go."

"What! That's so lame! You know what they say about people who take a cab in the middle of a route. Plus, you'll miss out on all my pictures," Bianca huffed.

"But you've already taken over a hundred, I'm sure I'll be fine without one day of a dozen pictures in the same position."

"Well okay," Bianca said a little miffed, "just remember that one day you'll thank me for all the pictures I've taken."

Ivory just smiled and squeezed N's hand reassuringly, "well have fun then, just remember to meet us when we come to Nacrene City. If you need anything just let me know and me and Nightstar will come running."

"_She's right you know_," Nightstar said, "_we really will. Plus, I haven't seen Ivory so happy in a long time so if you decide to disappear again, I'm going to shock you to next Tuesday_."

N smiled and said "thank you, both of you, for being concerned, but I'll be fine. Don't worry." He kind of wished Ivory could come with him, but he knew that wasn't a good idea.

He picked up his bag and waved goodbye to them as he headed out to the highway connecting the cities. Trixie jumped up onto his shoulder and said _"okay spill it. What's happening?"_

"Sage Gorm told me they think they've found the Light Stone and want me to authenticate it."

_"The Light Stone!? Why do we need that? Don't we already have the Dark Stone? You're still going to summon Zekrom aren't you?"_

"Yes, I'm still going to summon Zekrom. I think it's fitting since my plan is to fit the world into my ideal vision. Revealing the truth about their corrupt government and slave system just doesn't say 'a new era has begun' as much as ideals do. Anyway, we're retrieving the Light Stone to secure it and keep it away from unwanted threats. If the Light Stone is in Lenora's gym, that means it's in the League's hands. We don't want that."

_"You mean you aren't going to challenge some random trainer you kind of respect into testing your ideals with their truth in some sort of battle?"_

"Of course not. Why would I do that? Not only is it a bad strategy to basically create an extremely dangerous threat, but almost no one can actually summon one of the patron god's of Unova."

_"Do you think you can?"_ Trixie asks softly

"I certainly hope so."

By this point, N and Trixie had reached the highway where they saw a glossy black car parked at the side of the road. A member of Team Plasma immediately jumped out of the car and helped him stow his gear away in the trunk and ushered him inside the car.

* * *

'Finally got my Basic Badge! Dang Lenora was tough,' Black thought to himself as he proudly looked at his new shiny badge and placed into his badge collection. The other trainers who had come to challenge Lenora mainly looked depressed. Lenora was tough and most of these kids wanted to have more of an easy battle than an actual challenge. He'd already heard quite a few kids say they would wait until they made it to Castelia to try and get their gym badge from Burgh. 'Too bad for them,' Black thought smugly, 'most of them will probably not even get past him if they give up now.'

Black had been travelling alone for the past couple of days. Cheren and he had decided to part ways, seeing as they were now rivals and didn't want to have a complete knowledge of each other's fighting style. Although Black sometimes felt lonely, he enjoyed the long days of travelling and training and seeing his Pokemon get stronger and stronger. At this point he had already collected quite a team. He now had a Pansear along with a Blitzle and he had even been lucky enough to find a Meinfoo who had been key in his battle against Lenora.

Lenora had been very complimentary about his battle and tactics, only warning him not to ever get too head strong or cocky when going into battle. He promised himself that he would be sure to do that, but right now all he could think of was him and his Pokemon standing victoriously after defeating Alder and all the Pokemon League. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice he had started to run towards the exit in his excitement to start training or the person walking into the museum whom he toppled over and sent tumbling to the ground.

"Oh, sorry dude… hey it's you, N, right?" Black said as he tried to help N back to his feet only to have his hand swatted away, not by N, but by some random guy that had been standing next to him while a lady helped N get to his feet. They both glared at him while N laughed and told him not to worry about it. 'Geez what's wrong with these two people, it's not like I knocked them over. Maybe they're his parents,' Black thought to himself, but judging by the red hair he didn't think that was very likely.

"Hey," Black asked excitedly, "do you want to battle! It would help you prepare for Lenora. Let me tell you, Lenora is one tough cookie!"

"Oh… um… well"

"N's busy," the ginger snarled at Black, "would you mind moving? You're in our way."

"Oh," Black said noticing he was right in the middle of the doorway to the inside of the museum, "yeah," he said as he stepped aside.

N smiled apologetically and walked into the museum with the two others following closely behind him and shooting nasty looks at Black. 'What a nice group of people,' Black thought dryly. 'Well I might as well move on to Castelia city, but first I'm going to challenge Cheren!'

* * *

"Would it be possibly to actually hold the stone?" N asked the museum director.

Hawes laughed, "Why would you want to do that? It's just a useless piece of rock that looks pretty."

"Well… I know this is going to sound weird, but I am an avid rock collector. I just couldn't help but notice that this one is perfectly spherical and looks like it doesn't have any imperfections. I was just wanting to see if it did have flaws."

Hawes stared at N for a moment and looked like he was seriously debating on whether to open the display for N to inspect the stone. He then shrugged, "alright" he said as he opened the display case and handed the stone to N. N closed his eyes and felt deep within himself to see if he could find any inner voice. As he pressed his thoughts further, he felt an almost surreal shimmer of power, and then he felt the overwhelming presence of the deity. The object now seemed to be emanating power and intelligence, it was almost overwhelming and before N got too deep into the god's inner thoughts, he closed off his mind and effectively cut off contact with the being.

He smiled up at Hawes and said "wow this really is a special rock, I haven't seen any flaws on it. Be sure to keep good care of it," he then handed the stone back to Hawes and walked away to a different display.

"It's Reshiram," N told Alex and Jenna who had casually walked over to him as if they were normal tourists. Neither of them responds to N, instead Alex pulls out his phone and starts texting while Jenna slowly walks back to the exhibit displaying the Light Stone.

At that moment, a group of people dressed like thugs walk into the museum and one of them yells "Hey you old man!"

Hawes looks startled, but calmly says "yes? How can I help you?"

"You can help us by giving us your money. We're confiscating this dragon thing for the sake of profit and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

With that, the thug throws down a small white ball and smoke covers the museum. People shriek, glass was broken, and a scuffle can be heard. By the time the smoke clears up, the dragon's skull is gone. N glances over at Jenna who is now standing next to several broken into exhibits, but it appears the Light Stone was still there, but Jenna's slight smile indicated that appearances could be deceiving. She joined N and Alex and the three of them walked out the door of the museum without notice while the guards ran around in a panic.

**A/N: Well… Team Plasma just stole the Light Stone. That's not going to be good for the League. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Like I said, this is a ferriswheelshipping fanfiction so there will be plenty more Ivory/N in the future!**

**When I played BW for the first time, I always thought it was funny that N literally tells you everything from the beginning and wants you to challenge him. However, we all know that Ghetsis is secretly the mastermind behind Team Plasma so I never really imagined Ghetsis would just let N walk around unsupervised spewing out Team Plasma's plans. Can you imagine what would happen if N didn't tell the character anything? **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"I just don't get it. Why would thieves go and steal a Pokemon skull? Maybe they could sell it to a Pokemon collector, but honestly it's not really worth the price of going in to where a Gym Leader of all people reside!" Hawes exclaimed. He then turned to his wife and said, "What do you think, dear?"

"I think that it's strange that they also broke several other of the exhibitions, but only took a few random things. Most of them not valuable. They even took the tail bone for a Magikarp which can be bought anywhere for about 50 pokedollars. I especially don't like that they broke into this one." Lenora said, nodding her head towards the exhibition with the Light Stone.

"I know. Thank Arceus they didn't take it. We both know what it really is," Hawes said with a shudder.

Suddenly the entrance way to the museum burst open and two trainers ran up to them. Lenora recognized them as the trainers that had challenged her earlier. She remembered one of them was called Black, but she couldn't remember the other's name.

"We saw all the police outside here, what happened," the black-haired boy with glasses asked.

"We've had a robbery, boys. A group of thugs ran in here and stole our dragon skull."

"Do you know where they went!? We can totally go after them!"

"Hmm… well they were last reported to be seen in Pinwheel forest, but boys, we have no idea whether or not they're trainers or what levels their Pokemon are. It might be best just to leave this to the police and me," Lenora assured them.

"No way!" Black yelled, "I want to take down those thieves." He then turned and ran out the door. Cheren stared after him for a moment before running after him.

"They certainly have a lot of energy. Who knows, maybe they'll be able to find them."

* * *

Black ran out of Nacrene city and headed strait for Pinwheel forest. Cheren, on the other hand, was thinking more clearly and had called an uber to pick him up and take a car all the way to Pinwheel forest seeing as it would have normally taken at least three hours to walk all the way there. He also texted Black to come back and ride with him.

"Smart thinking Cheren," Black said as they both hopped into the car.

"Well obviously you were going to go to Pinwheel forest no matter what, so I decided to save some time and just get a ride there."

When they arrived at Pinwheel forest, it seemed quiet. They both ran into the forest and moved quickly through the woods. Fortunately, they weren't attacked by any Pokemon allowing them to make quick progress.

Black and Cheren started to hear voices from up ahead. They both started to run faster to see what the commotion was, and when they turned a corner, they saw a group of Rangers surrounding guys dressed in black and toting a large Pokemon skull. The poor guy actually holding the skull looked like he was going to faint from exertion.

"You know, if you hand over the skull and come quietly it'll be much easier for all of you."

"No way! Our bosses will totally bail us out!" and with that they brought out their Pokemon to battle. They mainly consisted of Woobats, Purrloins, Patrats, and Trubbishes.

"Is that all you got," Black yelled rudely at them.

The Rangers glanced over at Black and Cheren before saying, "Don't worry kids, we've got this handled. You don't need to play hero and try and stop all of them by yourselves." They all brought out their extremely well trained and powerful Pokemon to take down the thugs. The battle was over in moments, with the Ranger's Pokemon KOing each of the thugs' Pokemon in one hit.

"No way! I totally thought our Pokemon would have won that battle!" One of the thugs said.

"How old are you? How many badges do you even have?" the Ranger asked in irritation.

"Um…" the thug said. On closer inspection, Black could see that most of the thieves were actually quite young. All of them looked either around his age or younger. "That doesn't matter," the thug continued, "besides the guys that hired us will get us out of here."

"I hate to break it to you delinquents, but no one's going to come here for you. I don't know if you've ever heard of a getaway car, but you didn't even get one. They left you to haul around this skull and get caught by the police."

"What! They would never do that!" one of the boys insisted.

"Well, either way. You're all under arrest," a voice sounded from behind Black and Cheren. It was Lenora.

"Eek!" one of the girls in a black hoody said, "it's Gym Leader Lenora, I hear she's really scary!"

"I can be quite intimidating if I want to be. Now, tell me who you are and who hired you to do this."

"I'm Jake from Castelia town and the other two are Cassandra and Jack, they're from there as well. Look, we grew up along Narrow Street in Castelia City and we just wanted to make a quick buck. This fancily dressed dude approached us and asked us if we wanted jobs. We said yes and he told us to steal this Pokemon's skull thingy. He even gave us that smoke ball thing and paid us in advance and told us there would be more if we returned it to him."

"… how old are you three?"

The trio glanced at each other and said, "We're… sixteen."

"Where did you get the Pokemon?"

"They also gave us the Pokemon and said that we could keep them."

Lenora sighed and said, "Look, we're going to have to arrest you, but if you keep cooperating and tell us all about the people who hired you, you'll probably be put on probation and do community service for a year. It's clear that you're not really the ones behind this and you were hung out to dry when the real criminals did whatever it is they wanted to do." And with that the kids were cuffed, their Pokemon taken away, and they were led out of Pinwheel forest.

* * *

"We finally made it," Bianca cried out in relief, "you know they never tell you how much a Pokemon journey would physically hurt! My feet are dead tired."

I nod my head in agreement. I was excited to sleep in an actual bed and to sit around for a couple of hours massaging my feet. Nightstar of course, was completely fine because he had sat on my shoulder half the time. Sometimes I wished I had a Pokemon I could ride around and do the same thing.

"Hey what's going on over there?" Bianca asked, pointing at the flashing Police car lights by what looked to be a museum. "Let's go check it out!"

The bystanders told us that apparently a Pokemon skull had been stolen, but the thieves had already been arrested and processed. Now the police were just investigating to see whether anything else had been stolen.

"Well I hope they open back up soon," Bianca insisted, "I really want to battle Lenora!"

"It's already late in the evening and you haven't caught a fighting type yet. Don't worry, I'm sure the gym will open back up soon, and you'll be able to battle."

I inspected a crowd and saw a familiar head of wild green hair. "N," I called out to him and he turned and smiled at us.

"Did you get everything done that you needed to?" I ask him.

N glanced over at the flashing police lights and then back at me, "yes I did. How was the rest of your day travelling here?"

"Exhausting," Bianca complained, "let's go inside and sit down, okay. My feet are killing me."

We walk over to the Pokemon Center where N and Bianca get a room to stay in. I can't actually stay here because I'm not a trainer. "Oh, I have to go and tell Dr. Hawes that I'm here. He's the one I'm interning for and the one that'll provide a room."

"Alright Ivory, how long is your internship anyway?"

"It's only for about two days, less time than I spent in Striaton City."

"Cool, I'll train up my Pokemon in the meantime and challenge the Gym Leader!"

N smiles gently at me and says, "good luck, you'll do amazingly in whatever thing you end up doing."

I smile at this and feel my cheeks heat up as I start playing with my hair, "Thanks," I say softly. 'Why was I acting like this?' I thought to myself as I turned to walk out of the Pokemon Center. Nightstar looked up at me and gave me a little smile and a knowing look. 'Nightstar totally thinks I have a crush on N… do I?' I silently ask myself. I'd known N when he was a kid and ever since I had started travelling with him, I felt so much more natural and confident, but that was just because we were friends right? 'It helps that he's pretty cute,' I thought to myself before saying, 'shut up! He's like a brother, nothing more!' Then the little voice came back and said '… he doesn't have to be.'

At this point I had approached the museum and tried to shake my head of any stupid thoughts I had about N and walked up to one of the police officers. "Um… I need to see Dr. Hawes." The police officer looked at me before pointing at a man in a lab coat and saying, "that's him over there."

I walk over to him and hear him tell a woman next to him, "…we'll have the stone processed and in a couple of days we'll get the results back. If the energy levels don't match up, we'll know that…"

The woman looked over at me and interrupted Dr. Hawes by saying, "may we help you, young lady?"

"Um… my name is Ivory Greystorm and I'm here about an internship with Dr. Hawes."

Dr. Hawes whirled around and said, "Ah yes, you're the Whisperer Aurea was telling me about. Let me introduce you to my wife, Lenora."

I looked over at her in amazement and said, "wow you're the Gym Leader aren't you!"

"Yes I am, it's a pleasure to meet you Ivory."

Hawes sighed before saying, "unfortunately, this isn't the best time for you to be here, but no worries. We'll still have you complete your internship. We want you to be with the Pokemon when we first restore them from their fossils. The Pokemon are typically aggressive when they first come, and they'll attack our scientists ruthlessly. With you there, the Pokemon should be calmer and more receptive. Normally, we have our local Whisperer who works with the Rangers come and do this, but I figure this will be a nice break for him and it'll give you some good experience."

Lenora did say though, "it's getting a bit late though, so you should probably just go to your hotel for the night and we'll come and get you in the morning. Josh," she said indicating to a trainer standing dutifully next to her, "will take you there to your room. Hawes and I still have more we have to go over with the police."

* * *

'That was a bad battle,' Lenora thought to herself as she recalled her fainted Watchhog, 'I would never lose to a kid so clearly lacking in strategy normally. It must be the stress of waiting for the results on the Light Stone.'

She walked over and handed the boy his badge, "what was your name again?"

"N"

"Well N, I'll admit that I must not have been on top of my game. You didn't really have a strategy and half the time you didn't give your Pokemon any commands. That's consider quite a feat to accomplish that because it implies that the Pokemon and their trainer are so in sync that they don't need to use words to get their wish across. However, most trainers are unable to do this until they've spent years and years working with their Pokemon. Most people still can't do that even if they've been around their Pokemon for a long time. However, seeing as you've only just started your journey and this is only your second badge, I'm inclined to think otherwise. It reads more like incompetence on your part and luck on your Pokemon's. You also had a Timburr with you this entire time, but instead you used a Tympole. That doesn't make a lot of sense when you could use Timburr's type advantage over my normal type." 'Not that it really mattered,' Lenora thought sullenly, 'his Tympole was still able to take down both my Herdier and my Watchhog. I can't believe I botched this match so horribly.'

"Anyway," Lenora said continuing, "here's your Basic Badge. Remember, Castelia's Gym Leader, Burgh, is even tougher."

N takes the badge and looks at it as if it's a slimy piece of trash and says to Lenora, "thank you. Your advice on how to better hurt other Pokemon is always appreciated." He then rudely turned without waiting for a response and walked out the door.

'I seriously wish I could take the badge back,' Lenora thought acidly. 'That arrogant brat doesn't even deserve to be a Pokemon trainer. If I had been more on my game, I could have taught him a lesson. Well, at least I can report him and warn the other Gym Leaders about him. Maybe, they can do their jobs properly and knock him down a couple of pegs. Burgh certainly can.'

Lenora walked down to the basement of the lab where she saw Hawes doing some carbon dating on some old bones and the Whisperer, Ivory, playing with an Archen that had been recently revitalized. "How's the Pokemon adjusting, Ivory?"

Ivory grins and says "Archen keeps looking around the city whenever I take him out. I think he's having a hard time adjusting to all the tall buildings and the fact that people and Pokemon live together in the same place. He kept staring at a couple of trainers having a Pokemon battle and seemed interesting in joining the fight."

"Do you think he's ready to accept a trainer?"

"Definitely."

Hawes than says excellent and presses a button and tells the reception, "bring him down to the lab."

An older gentleman comes down and looks the Archen sitting peacefully in Ivory's arms and exclaims: "oh, he's magnificent! Are you sure it's alright if I take him with me?"

Hawes nodded and the man brought out a fancy ultra ball, "Oh, will I have to battle it."

"No, it should be fine with a Whisperer around."

Ivory than looked directly at the Archen and said, "this gentleman over here is going to be your new friend and companion. He's very excited to meet you!" The Archen then looked at the man and hopped over to him and stood submissively at his feet. The man smiled and captured the Pokemon with his pokeball.

"I must say that it doesn't seem like I would even need a pokeball with him," the man said.

"Actually, Archen would have become more aggressive if Ivory weren't here. The pokeball will allow you to connect and bond to each other without using a Whisperer as a medium."

"Well thank you good sir, and you especially little lady," he said while tipping his hat in Ivory's direction and he turned to take his new Pokemon back home with him. He nodded respectfully to Lenora as he exited the room.

Hawes turned to Ivory and said, "Thank you so much for your assistance Ivory! You're all complete with your internship and you can head off to Castelia City now."

"Thanks Hawes! Thanks Lenora!" she said as she bounded up the stairs with her little Shinx bouncing up behind her.

Lenora walked over to her husband and asked seriously, "Any news?"

"Yes, and it's bad. The stone emitted no power signature meaning that it most certainly isn't the Light Stone."

"That means that one of the patron gods of all of Unova is in the hands of some well-organized, elusive, and potentially evil criminal organization."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"Wow, Skyarrow bridge is breathtaking, and look at Castelia's city line! I can't believe how big it is," Bianca said with wonder as she proceeded to take a million pictures of it.

"I know! I can't imagine ever living there though," I say as I look out onto the city with it's big sparkling lights, "there's just so many people there and not enough trees."

"I completely agree," N said who was walking right between me and Trixie, who was currently disguised as a little girl and holding N's hand, "the times I've been here I've always been excited to leave. There are just too many people everywhere."

"Oh, don't spoil it, look we're almost into the city, let's just have fun here and not worry too much about stuff like that."

The city is huge with large skyscrapers towering over us and neon signs flashing everywhere. There are so many people hurrying around us, most of them blabbering away on their phones, that I feel like we're being pressed on every side. I almost feel a little claustrophobic and I instinctively move closer towards N causing me to blush.

N and I had gotten even closer since we'd journeyed from Nacrene City to here. With Bianca off training half the time in her determination to get even better after her near fourth loss to Lenora. We had talked about anything and everything. I loved how N had become more and more relaxed between us as time had gone by and I often felt Nightstar nudging me towards him and giving me a sly look. Trixie also seemed to be in on it. She would often pull pranks that involved either me or N falling on top of each other which made her laugh and made both me and N blush.

"Okay, where will I train my Pokemon?" Bianca asked as she looked around at all the people around her. "We can't battle on the streets, and I don't even know who's a trainer or not."

"Bianca, didn't you read the big notice when we walked through the gate into Castelia city? It had a sign saying there was a special building where a company had hired trainers to battle anyone coming through. It costs about 5000 pokedollers."

"What!? I didn't see it."

"How could you miss it? It was in big, bolded, neon colors with flashing lights around it!"

"Well you know," Bianca said blushing, "I had… other things to think about."

"Like all the places you need to take pictures?"

"Maybe I was! And for a valid reason, there are so many things to do here! So many places to see! Speaking of, Ivory where's your next internship?"

"It's actually with Team Plasma," I say simply.

At this N turns to me, his eyes bright with excitement, "what really!? That's wonderful! I'll take you right to them!" He then grabs my hand and runs down the street with me leaving Bianca in the dust.

"Hey, that was mean to Bianca," I chided N as we ran down the street.

"Why? She's right behind us."

I turn to see her huffing and puffing after us. This is kind of surprising seeing as she's never gone to one of my internships before. We finally reached the street where Plasma's headquarters were located. There were flags to either side of them with the Plasma insignia on them. I looked across the street and I noticed that the Pokemon Gym was also in this same area, "that's… kind… of ironic," I wheezed, still out of breath from our run through Castelia, "Plasma and the League on the same street. Does Team Plasma go out and set up a lot of protests around the gym?"

"Unfortunately, no," N replied, "that's illegal."

After we've caught our breath we head inside the building. I have to say that Team Plasma's headquarters look really nice. Everything is super clean, and all the furniture is well maintained and proper looking. I don't know why, but when I came here last spring I had expected it to be kind of dirty with a bunch of Pokemon loafing around the building and the members to look like total hippies who had been getting too many doses of Dream Mist. I guess because in Nuvema town, a place where mainly scientists working for the League lived, everyone kind of thought of Team Plasma as ridiculous hippies who naively thought Pokemon and humans should be separated. However, after I met them, I realized that most of them were really well educated and respected members of society. I had read that the seven original founders all held one or more PhDs and were quite wealthy.

The receptionist at the front comes over to us and bows slightly before saying, "welcome to Team Plasma's headquarters how may we assist you."

"Wow," Bianca says, "I always wanted to come meet Team Plasma because I've heard such different things about them!"

"Oh, we hold tours of our organization that explain our philosophy and objectives. If you want, I could arrange a tour for you!"

"Can I give them a tour?" N asks excitedly.

"Oh… um…" the receptionist stutters and flushes slightly, "I'm sorry my… um sir, but we can only allow those officially signed as members of the Team to give a tour."

N truly looks crestfallen and says, "Oh, I see."

"But I can arrange a tour with one of the founders that oversee our area, and it'll be for free."

"What! Really! That's great," Bianca cheered, "this is going to be so cool."

The receptionist makes a few calls and asks us to wait in the waiting room. It isn't too long before an older gentleman in a nice suit comes to greet us. "Welcome young travelers, my name is Bronius and I am one of the cofounders of Team Plasma. I hear you are interested in learning more about us."

"Well," I say honestly, "I'm actually here for an internship with Team Plasma, but I would love to get a tour."

"Ah yes, you're the Whisperer that will be joining us for about a week before you move through Unova on your journey. Quite a fascinating arrangement you have there. Your name is Ivory Greystorm is it not?"

"Yep that's me," I said cheerily.

"Well I'm not here for any internship thing. I'm Bianca from Nuvema town and I'm on my Pokemon journey. I've heard a lot about you guys, especially from our friend N, and I want to see what you guys are all about."

"Excellent, then this tour is perfect for you," he said as he ushers us towards the elevator.

"Team Plasma was founded about twenty-three years ago by me and my six friends. My friends and I had met at university where we studied, among other things, Pokemon. It was there that we realized that the law and society has not made enough of an effort to try to understand Pokemon or even allow them a choice of whether they want to become integrated into our society. Instead, fear has kept us apart and has driven humans to enslave the other all in the name of protection against wild Pokemon. While we do understand and acknowledge that Pokemon are dangerous, we believe it would be in all our best interest to have as few Pokemon be enslaved until better communications between people and Pokemon can be created. This means that we highly discourage trainers from pursuing and capturing Pokemon. It's why we made such a push against things like PCs where Pokemon are digitalized and virtually abandoned by their trainers. We also are the ones who pushed for only allowing a trainer to catch six Pokemon. Of course, exceptions were made for the League, but we believe it's been a huge improvement compared to what we had before."

The elevator stopped and we walked out while Bronius continued, "We're also dedicated to protecting and rescuing any and all abused Pokemon," he said as he gestured toward a room filled with plants (they even had planted grass on the floor) and Pokemon with humans attending them, "this is our Whisperer division. They are devoted to the care and support of Pokemon. When Team Plasma conducts a raid on criminals such as Team Rocket that holds Pokemon captive, the Whisperers are the ones that help rescue and recuperate the Pokemon. They also assist abused Pokemon to adjust and trust humans again."

What I had always loved about Team Plasma was how many Whisperers were here. They all looked genuinely happy, and when I had been here last spring, I could tell that every single one of them was devoted to Team Plasma. I knew it was a little controversial to have so many Whisperers to work for the same group (especially one that was slightly antagonistic toward the League), but they all had volunteered and didn't want to go anywhere else.

Bronius looked over at me and said, "Ivory, you'll be working here with the other Whisperers. There's been a recent raid on an underground section of Narrow Street where humans have forced wild Pokemon into death battles amongst each other for entertainment. We're going to need all the help we can get to calm those Pokemon and help them to not kill any human that isn't a Whisperer on sight."

We then continued the tour where Bronius told us more about their history and philosophy. We saw some of their research and development projects, all on ways to better understand Pokemon, and we even got to look down the hallway where all the seven leaders of Team Plasma worked. There were six doors across from each other and one at the end.

By the end Bianca says, "wow this place is amazing! I never knew all that Team Plasma did. You almost make me want to join!"

"Yeah! Me too," I eagerly agree.

Those statements made both N and Bronius smile in approval. "Well we are always recruiting and accepting donations. Bianca, if you want you could join us."

Bianca looked amazed and stuttered "r-really?!"

"Well…" Bronius started and hesitated, "you would have to revoke your trainer's license. Not that you have to give up your Pokemon, but trainers are technically members of the League until they finish their journeys. Team Plasma and the League are… not on the best of terms and the League has now barred Team Plasma from entrance into the Pokemon League and certain positions within the League. We have several scientists working for us that used to be Professors in the League laboratory in Nuvema town, now they live here and solely work for us. So, in political retaliation, Team Plasma doesn't allow any League members to join."

"Oh… that's too bad. Well I still want to continue my journey, so I guess I'll pass. What about Ivory though? She's a Whisperer and not technically part of the League."

Bronius shook his head sadly before saying, "Ivory, you're about fifteen, right?" I nod and he continues to say, "we can't accept anyone under the age of eighteen. That's the same with the League and almost any political entity or company."

"Oh… well I guess in three years' time I'll think about it," I say.

"I hope you do," Bronius encouraged. He then handed us Plasma pins and said: "here. You don't have to be official members to support us."

"Thanks!" Bianca and I say together as we both reach for out bags and put the Plasma pin on them.

With the tour done, Bianca and I wave goodbye to Bronius and Bianca turns to us and says, "well that was fun! I feel kind of hypocritical saying this, but I'm going to go to the battle company and train up my Pokemon!" She turns and leaves, leaving me and N together at the entrance.

"Ms. Greystorm," I hear the receptionist call over to me, "this is your security clearance for Team Plasma. It gives you access to where the Pokemon and other Whisperers are. I hope you enjoy your time here with us." She smiles at me and nods respectfully at N before returning to her desk.

N looks over at me and asks, "are you ready to get started?"

* * *

Bianca sighed as she stepped out of the Pokemon Center with her freshly healed Pokemon. The battles had been hard, and she could hardly get past one trainer before having to leave and heal her Pokemon. She felt kind of frustrated at this, why was it so difficult for her to battle with Pokemon? Didn't she work hard enough?

"Bianca," a familiar voice called over to her. She looked up and saw that it was Black.

"Oh hey Black! Long time no see!" She said as she ran over to him. "How are you and your Pokemon?"

"Great! Are you going to battle the Gym Leader? I had my freshly caught Rufflet with me along with my Pansear to help me fight, so it was a breeze!"

"That's awesome Black! Yeah, I'm on my way to challenge Burgh, well at some point at least. Hey, have you seen Ivory recently?"

Black looked kind of distant when Bianca said her name, but he shook it off and said lightheartedly, "not recently. Why do you ask?"

"Well because she is your little sister and I think that maybe you should oh I don't know, go and say hi at some point. She's at Team Plasma's headquarters right now. You should go visit her."

"… Yeah. Anyway, Bianca do you want to battle?"

"Sure!"

They raced over to a battlefield and Bianca sent out Moon while Black sent out Blade. It was almost humiliating how fast the battle went. Black and Blade, who had now evolved into a Dewott, were so in sync that Blade followed every order without question or hesitation. It was almost like a dance; Black would rapidly shout out a command and Blade would leap and execute it perfectly. "Blade use Razor Shell," Bianca was surprised that Black would say this when Blade was still in the air from dodging a psybeam from Moon, but Blade didn't hesitate and immediately threw his shell with a burst of energy and water right onto Moon who promptly fainted after that hit.

"Moon," Bianca cried, "Moony are you okay?" She held the fainted Munna in her arms for a moment before returning Moon to her pokeball.

Black helped Bianca to her feet and said, "Bianca… you need to take more control of the battle. You rely too much on your Pokemon knowing what to do when the truth is that they need to be able to trust you and your commands to win the battle. Don't give up though! You are way better than you were when we first got our Pokemon."

"Thanks Black," Bianca said shakily, fighting hard to keep the tears out of her eyes, "I hope you keep improving too."

With that Black tipped his hat and walked away to downtown Castelia. 'Gee Black, couldn't you have asked how I was doing or what experiences I've had,' Bianca thought bitterly, 'you didn't even let me take a picture with you.' Bianca let out a frustrated sigh but decided it would be best if she just let it go. She couldn't help but remember something N had told her earlier "Victors decide what's right." At this moment, when she felt so weak and incompetent, Bianca couldn't help but agree and add mentally, 'and victors are the only ones that are worth anything. Losers are nothing.'

She was about to buy some casteliacones and wallow in self pity when she noticed two people not far from where she stood. 'The gingers, Team Smoke,' she thought, 'so this is where they go to sell their Dream Mist.' Bianca glanced around and saw that there were surprisingly few people around where she was and that no one knew or cared about the two thugs. 'Well,' Bianca thought, 'I guess that I'll have to take matters into my own hands. Then we'll see who's important and worth something.'

With those thoughts in mind, she swiftly walked over to see what the two were up to.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"This Gothita is sure one stubborn Pokemon," Aria laughed as she tried to get her to join the other Pokemon in a game.

I smiled and looked down at my assigned Pokemon, a Shuppet who was very clingy and followed me all around whenever I came into the Plasma's Pokemon garden. Already, the Pokemon Team Plasma had rescued from the raid were friendlier and more open to us than they ever had been before. We'd already brought in several non-Whisperers and almost all of them had responded positively. Well, except Gothita.

I had really enjoyed my time here in Team Plasma. The other Whisperers which included Aria and Averee (her Fennikin she was bonded to), Isaac and Eliana (his Murkrow), Liesel and Crystal (her Alolan form Vulpix), and Max and Glade (his Grovyle). Then of course there was N. He may not have been an official member of Team Plasma (probably because he was fifteen like me), but that didn't change the fact that literally everyone here knew who he was. The minute N and I had first stepped into the doors, all the other Whisperers said "N!" and wanted to know all about his journey. It wasn't hard to realize that they all knew each other and had been working together for a while. They also really respected and cared about him which was kind of surprising seeing how much younger he was compared to some of them. I think Aria was the only one that was eighteen and the others were in their mid to late twenties. What surprised me even more was that there were even more Whisperers that worked for Team Plasma. When I asked about them, they told me there was Peter and Kyoto and Jackson and Spade who were both apparently really high up in the Team Plasma ranks. They also mentioned a girl named Ella with her partner Dusk which was a Mimikyu, but they all got really quiet and looked upset whenever she was mentioned.

It was just incredible to see so many other Whisperers. It was fun to hear the stories about how they bonded with their Pokemon and to just feel understood by others. Even with Bianca having her own Pokemon, she just couldn't understand what it was like to be a Whisperer. Not that everything was all fun and games while I worked there, it could be upsetting to see and feel how distressed the abused Pokemon were, but it was also rewarding to see when they slowly began to trust humanity again. I was surprised by the time the week was almost over that I wished I could stay longer.

"Hey, you know what! To give Ivory a proper send off, we should go out to eat and have a toast to Team Plasma," Aria said happily. I really like Aria, she was friendly and sweet, but I couldn't help but notice that whenever N came in to help, she always would give him a special smile and blush whenever he spoke directly to her. I tried not to be jealous (especially because she was older than him and N didn't ever seem to notice her in that way), but I still felt irritated whenever I saw the two of them together. Trixie didn't like it either and would always stay around me and give me a wink when N would come over. I seriously was starting to feel like Trixie was my wing woman.

"That sounds like fun," Liesel said, 'where should we go?"

"We should go to the place that sells food from the Johto Region! I hear it's spicy and has a lot of sea food!" Max said enthusiastically.

"Ew. Not to mention the smell of seafood upsets Eliana," Isaac insisted.

"Oh, come on! Ever since N told you that Eliana said Seaking are gross you've refused to go to any seafood restaurant!" Max complained.

"I know! Let's go to the Alolan themed restaurant on Main Street, I'm sure Crystal has missed seeing some of her native food!"

"… that sounds better than the Johto place," Isaac sniffed.

"That settles it, when we're done for the day, we'll go there!"

'Are we going to invite N?' I wonder. Something surprising I found, was that even though the others really liked N and considered him a good friend, they always were a little distant. They never really went out together just to hang out. They never invited him to anything and even when they joked around with him, it was always stilted with formality. It wasn't until I saw Max, respectfully nod at N when he walked by, that I realized that they treated N as if were a higher rank, their boss even… or something even more. I could never put my finger on what it was, but it made it more confusing seeing as N wasn't even a member of Team Plasma. When I had noticed this, I noticed that everyone, not just the Whisperers, treated N this way. All of them were very respectful and would ask if he needed anything. I knew most Whisperers were treated with respect, but this was a whole new level. It wasn't even like he was there always helping out with the rest of us. He still went to lots of meetings or whatever and whenever he was with us, someone would often come in to the Pokemon garden and ask him to come with them.

The only people who I didn't see treat N this way were the seven founders and the ones higher up in Team Plasma that the other Whisperers called "admins." The admins were still respectful, but in a different way than the others were. They respected him in the same way I had received respect for most of my life; an acknowledgement of power. They seemed to know N was powerful but didn't seem to regard him as an authoritative figure like all the rest of Team Plasma seemed to.

Finally, there were the seven founders. I'd heard Aria slip up and call them "Sages," whatever that meant, before quickly switching to "founders" when she realized I was around. Everyone really respected and feared those seven, especially Ghetsis. When a Sage, as I've taken to calling them because all the rest of Team Plasma calls them that, walked into a room all attention was turned to them and they were given utmost respect and attention whenever they spoke.

Again, Ghetsis was an exception. Not only did the Plasma members respect him, they practically worshiped the ground he walked on. Whenever, he walked down the hall, everyone stood to the side and respectfully nodded their head in acknowledgment and respect. When I went to hear a speech of his to Team Plasma and new recruits, the members all hastily scribbled down notes as if they were hearing the very words of Arceus himself. They also were afraid of him. More than any of the other Sages, including Zinzolin who I had heard snap at some of his subordinates from time to time, the members feared Ghetsis. I'll admit he is kind of intimidating. I mean the guy has a red eye patch over one of his eyes and he just looks like a guy you should never mess with.

It wasn't until the end of my stay, right before I had come here to finish my last session with Shuppet, that I actually met Ghetsis_._

* * *

_Ghetsis had summoned me to speak to me on "an important matter" (which was pretty scary for me. I mean what did a leader of a huge organization want with me?). I had gone to his office which was the one at the end of the hall. When I arrived, he introduced himself and asked me some questions about myself. He even asked me what I liked to do in my free time. I felt myself start to relax as I told him about my passion for reading and running. I don't know how Ghetsis managed it, but he made me feel comfortable and at ease. "Before you leave Team Plasma, Ivory," Ghetsis said to me and gave me an evaluative look, "I wanted to speak to you about N."_

'_Well, conspiracy theory confirmed. Literally everyone here knows N including the head honcho Ghetsis,' I thought to myself, 'maybe I'll finally figure out why he's so well-known here.'_

"_What is your relationship with him?" Ghetsis asked staring directly at me._

'_Um… what? This guy is so concerned about a random kid named N who isn't even a part of his group, that he asks the girl he's travelling with what her relationship is with him. That's just way too weird.'_

"_Um… no offense sir, but why does it matter to you?"_

_Ghetsis smiled softly and said, "because he's my son."_

_I stare at Ghetsis for a moment and think blankly 'huh?' before my brain kicks in and says, 'it all makes sense! The way everyone is so respectful of him and seems to know him! It still seemed like a bit much to be treating N that way just because he was their boss' son, but at least it made a little more sense.' As I looked more closely at Ghetsis, I feel dumb that I couldn't see it before. They both have the same green har, the same smile, and even shared some of the same mannerisms. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, Ghetsis really just looks like an older version of N except for their eyes and their voices. Ghetsis has a deep and smooth voice, but N's is far lighter and melodic and mesmerizing. It'll sometimes sound like he's almost singing. Other than that, they look pretty similar to one another. I still feel kind of dumb that I hadn't seen it before._

"_Oh," I say stupidly, but then I finally remember that I should be angry with this guy. "Wait a minute. You're the guy who left your kids out in the woods! If N hadn't been a Whisperer, they would all be dead!" I say angrily, "now, you're telling me that you're interested in your son's social life?!"_

_At this Ghetsis looks genuinely angry at my accusation. "I did not abandon my son," Ghetsis snapped, "he was taken from me when he was only four. To flee their captors, Anthea and Concordia took N into the woods to protect him. I spent years trying to find them, never giving up hope that one day I would find them."_

_That made me feel bad and I said, "I'm sorry sir for thinking that. It's just Concordia and Anthea never talked about a home they came from, and N was so young he didn't remember it. I know it was wrong of me to say, but I only saw what they showed me. Not to mention the fact that when you took them back, you basically forcibly kidnapped them."_

"_Yes, that was… unfortunate, but it was worth it to get N back."_

_I said nothing for a minute before saying, "in answer to your question, I'm just N's friend. We were best friends as kids and we still are. I care a lot about him, and I enjoy spending time with him. That's all I promise."_

_Ghetsis looks at me intently before adding, "Friendship often blossoms into romance. You may not have any feelings for him, but N certainly has them for you. The way he looks at you says it all, and I don't think you've been completely unresponsive."_

"_What are you saying," I ask slowly. Is this what a guy feels like when he goes to meet his girlfriend's parents and the dad brings out the baseball bat? It kind of felt like that._

"_Only that you should be careful. I don't want you to toy with N's feelings and string him along, but I also don't want you to get hurt."_

"_Um… how would I get hurt?" 'By you bashing me in the head with a baseball bat?'_

"_N's very passionate about his goals and ambitions. If anything gets in his way, it may end up hurting you because you might want something else."_

"_Are you talking about the Pokemon equal rights thing? Because if you are, I'm actually pretty chill with that and totally think he should go for it."_

_Ghetsis actually laughs and says, "I suppose that is one of his goals. Just remember, don't try and get in his way."_

_I'm not quite sure what happened then, but I felt a sudden chill in the room, and I felt genuine fear. Ghetsis looked up, and said "ah, you three come in"_

_Three figures then approached Ghetsis' desk and stood dutifully behind him. "These are three of my most loyal…workers. They protect N and they will try and stop anything and anyone that attempts to harm or stop N. Are we understood?" Ghetsis asked softly, his eyes never leaving my face._

_I quickly nod my head and say, "Look, I'm not going to hurt N. I promise!"_

_He nodded and then dismissed me. I quickly ran out of the room and down the hall and back to the Pokemon garden. I didn't tell the others about what had happened because, well, he kind of was their boss and I was worried those ninja dudes would pop out and kill me or something. I glanced down at Nightstar before saying, "hey where was that electric shock when I needed it! That was way scary!" but Nightstar shook his head and I felt he meant to say that it would have been way worse if he had attacked._

"Hey! Earth to Ivory," Aria calls to me, snapping me out of that painful memory, "time to go to the restaurant."

* * *

I had a really fun time with them there. This entire time with Team Plasma has actually been pretty good… too bad Ghetsis had to go ahead and ruin it. When we part ways, they told me that I should come any time and that if they had a raid, I should join.

I smiled and promised them I would. We parted ways and I started lazily walking down to the park in the middle of the city. It was the only place that wasn't completely crowded with a bunch of people and had actual trees and grass. As I slowly walked down the street, I felt a hand grab my arm causing me to shriek.

"Hey, don't worry! It's me!" I hear N say, "I should really get Trixie to stop pulling so many tricks, it must be rubbing off on you."

'Or get your overprotective dad to get off my back. Seriously, I thought Bianca's dad was bad enough,' I think to myself, but I say to him "sorry. You just startled me. I was walking down to the park here in the city, wanna come with?"

"Of course," he says immediately.

We walk in silence for a while before I finally said, "Um… so… N. I kind of met your dad."

I feel N stiffen next to me before he sighs, "so that's why you're acting so jumpy. Did he show the Shadow Triad to you?"

"You mean the three ninja guys?"

"Yes." N sighed and said, "sorry about that. My father is just very protective of me and doesn't easily trust strangers. It makes sense because Anthea, Concordia, and I were taken away from our homes as children."

"That's just so weird, because Concordia never mentioned that."

"She and Anthea never really talked about it, just that bad things happened, and we had to stay in the woods now… I don't really remember what happened the night it happened. I guess you could say I'm blocking my memories, but I was also only four years old."

"Well, anyway, your dad is really intimidating. No wonder everyone's scared of him."

"Yes, but he's also a good man. Everyone respects him and follows his orders because they trust his decisions."

'Like you do,' I think to myself. I can see that N admires the man and from the way he spoke of him I could tell he loved him. Which makes sense because Ghetsis is N's father, but still the guy was way scary.

"Anyway, N continued, if it makes you feel better. My father did the same thing to Aria, but I'm not quite sure why. I guess because she wanted to spend more time with me after work."

I kind of wanted to role my eyes at how naïve N was, but I also was secretly pleased to hear that N had no feelings for her. By this point we had reached the park and we were just walking around through the grass and up a hill.

"Do you remember when we were kids, we used to pretend we were Pokemon and have Pokemon battles with each other," N asked.

"And Trixie and Nightstar used to pretend to be trainers. Of course I remember! That was so much fun! I would always win too."

"That's not true! I would win a few times!"

"I have news for you buddy, I let you win those few times. I got tired of beating you, so I just let you think you won," I teased. The sad thing was, it was all true. N had been a scrawny kid, so it was really easy to take him down.

"Well, I would win now. I'm much taller than you and I'm… um nothing."

"Uh-oh Mr. Equal Rights person were you about to say you could beat me because I'm a girl and you're a boy?"

"Of course not… I was just saying because I'm taller and bigger."

Trixie suddenly jumped in front of us and said something excitedly that I couldn't understand. I looked over at N, who had paled and said "we can't do that! Not here! We're too old for that!"

"What?" I ask.

"Trixie wants us to battle like before."

I grinned and said, "now tell me in her exact words"

N sighed and said, "she told me to put my money where my mouth is and to fight you to see if I'd actually win. She also said that her bet is on you."

"Alright, I accept the challenge."

"What! We can't do that here," he said gesturing around the empty park. "Besides, we're much older and not as immature as we used to be."

I grinned at him evilly, "maybe you are, but I'm not! Ivory used tackle." I then pounced on him, but he was much quicker to react than I thought he would be. He quickly moved aside and grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms to my side, but I wasn't going to go down that easily. I use my foot to trip him up, which sends me and him tumbling down the hill together. We squirm and wrestle each other until I have him pinned and say, "I win."

His eyes were bright from the excitement and exertion of the battle, and as we look more deeply into each other's eyes, I see him looking at me in a way I've never been looked at before. I didn't know quite what it was, but it was something much stronger than just friendship. I then realized, to my embarrassment, that the way I had pinned him down was so that I was effectively straddling him while pinning his hands above his head. If those ninja guys saw this, they would get Ghetsis here to come swinging his bat faster than I could say "I choose you Pikachu."

I blushed and said, "well, now we know who the winner would be. You may be taller, N Harmonia, but I fight dirty, and that's all you need in life."

N laughed and sat up, but he took hold of my hand and said, "Ivory I-"

And that was when we heard the scream. It was Bianca's scream coming from Narrow Street.

N and I looked at each other for a split second before running out of the park and towards the street where the scream had come from. We ran into an alleyway where some shady looking guys were giggling creepily and there was a guy complaining about not being able to find his glasses. There was no sign of Bianca anywhere.

I started to cautiously make my way down the alleyway when N grabbed my arm and said, "Wait." He then knelt to the ground and a Rattata scuttled up obediently towards him. He looked intently at the Pokemon before asking, "Have you seen a girl, about eighteen with a big green hat and an orange vest shirt?" The Rattata seemed to say something in return and N nodded and looked up and said "he told me that there was a girl that passed through here following two older humans, but they turned down that alleyway over there and that's when she screamed. He didn't go to investigate because he was scared."

We run towards the alley the Rattata had said and turn down it. It's pretty quiet, but then I hear the sobs. I run down past the trash cans and I see that Bianca is sitting huddled behind them with her face hidden in her hands and her shoulders heaving from the sobs racking her body.

"Bianca! Oh my Arceus! What happened to you."

"I-I-Ivory," she sobbed, "I-I was so st-st-stupid." She looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I saw them. I saw T-Team Smoke or-or whoever they are. I just wanted to see what they were doing and then they turned this corner and I followed them. That was when they attacked me. They were such powerful trainers- I didn't stand a chance against them. They defeated all my Pokemon and then they-they. Oh Ivory, they took Smokey, Fluffy, Moon, and Pow! They're all gone! All of them!" She then put her head back into hands and continued to sob.

"Oh, Bianca… I'm so sorry. We're going to get those Pokemon back. N," I say turning to him, "can you try and find out where they went. They're two red heads."

"I'll try, but I wish you could give me a better description than them just being red heads." N then looked up and immediately two Pidoves came fluttering down. N looked at them and said, "did you two see what happened here? … Really! That's great! Can you lead us to where you saw the attackers going? Okay."

"Bianca, come with us. We'll get your Pokemon back!" I said.

Bianca looked up hopefully and said, "r-really!?" her eyes were flush with hope. "Okay let's go!"

N, Bianca, and I start running down the alley after with the Pidove, Trixie, and Nightstar leading the way. We run through several twists and turns until we run into a shabby looking shop with a couple of thugs loitering around outside. There were women smoking and wearing very revealing clothing while there were a couple of guys leaning against their motorbikes and polishing their pokeballs. They leered at us when we approached, and Bianca hid behind us.

N slowly approached and said, "we're looking for a couple of Pokemon thieves that may have come by here. They were both red heads."

"One was a guy and another a lady," I interjected, "and they were nicely dressed." 'At least they were when I met them in the Dreamyard.'

One man scratched his head and said, "yeah, I think I saw them, but it will cost ya."

"What do you want?" Bianca said sharply,

The man eyed me creepily making me shift uncomfortably. "This one is a Whisperer. She's got that cute little badge and everything. Tell ya what, girly. You do a lil' something for me and I'll return the favor. I have a score to settle with this wannabe biker gang, you help us win the Pokemon fight, and I'll tell ya who those guys are."

"She's not for sale," N snarled, "you will not exploit her powers."

"Ooh looky here. A brat with a fancy vocabulary but without an ounce of muscle. Do you think we can take him boys?"

The men all cheered and grunted in agreement and slowly stood up. Nightstar's tale sparked dangerously and Trixie growled intimidatingly at them.

The man looked at Trixie before saying, "how about this. Ya either have the Whisperer do us a little favor, or you give us your Zorua. They're pretty rare and they're great fighters."

"No," N roared, "No, to both those options! You will tell us where they are. You forget that you can't use your Pokemon against a Whisperer. You have no place for argument."

"Calm down kid! Geeze, I thought ya'll wanted to find these people. It's just a deal. That's how the streets work."

"Well I don't make deals with low life like you," N snapped and then said, "Trixie, attack"

Trixie immediately attacks one of the biker gang members with some move and throws him clean off his motorbike. I'll admit I was kind of surprised how aggressive N could be seeing how much of a tree hugger he is, but I'm also impressed that he stood up to them.

"Okay, okay freak. Calm down! Look we don't actually know who those guys are. Whenever they come, trouble follows and they're too strong of trainers for any of us to fight. They sometimes come to buy illegal materials or get some street information, but this time they just sold us a couple of Pokemon for really cheap."

"Pokemon!" Bianca said, "those are my Pokemon! Give them to me"

"Okay, here you go," the man said as he brought out two pokeballs, "I don't want any more trouble."

Bianca immediately released them to see which ones they were, it was a Trubbish and Moon. "Moon," Bianca squealed as she happily hugged the small Pokemon. "But where are the others?" Bianca demanded, "I had a Tepig, a Herdier, and a Scrafty as well! This Trubbish isn't mine."

"I'm sorry kid, but this is all they gave us," to this Trixie growled intimidatingly, "I swear it's the truth! They didn't give us anything else!"

"Did you see where they went after that?" I asked

"They went to the main road and joined the crowds. You'll never find them there."

"Well we have to try. Come on," I say to N and Bianca, "let's go find the rest of your Pokemon!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

**(3****rd**** Person POV: Alex and Jenna)**

"What should we do with the rest of the Pokemon," Jenna asked as she looked at the remaining pokeballs. "I figure we can give the Scrafty and Herdier to one of the low-ranking grunts of Team Plasma that don't have Pokemon, but what about the Tepig?"

Alex walked silently down the street for a moment before saying, "Starter Pokemon are hard to use or get rid of. They're mainly bred in labs, so they aren't really found in the wild which makes them hard to sell on the black market. They're also very loyal to their first trainer because that's the first human they truly interact with. They're nearly impossible to trade away and most rooky trainers can't handle stolen Pokemon."

Then Jenna grins sinisterly, "Oh Alex, you're forgetting the very thing we members of Team Plasma represent: Pokemon Liberation. Why not let the little runt go free."

"I like your thinking. Alright, let's release it in the desert resort after we drop off the other two at Team Plasma headquarters-wait," Alex said and suddenly came to a halt. "Look at those Pidoves."

"What about them," Jenna asked impatiently, "We're in Castelia City, there are Pidoves and Rattatas all around here."

"Yes, but watch this" Alex than started walking down a side street and after going that direction for a while, the said Pidove hopped from its perch and followed them.

"Oh, I see, it's following us. Do you think it's acting on orders from that Whisperer we saw from earlier with the girl?"

"Maybe, either way it's not good news."

"What should we do?"

Alex smirked and said, "it's Castelia City. People come here to disappear, a stupid Pidove won't be able to keep up with us. Especially if we walk through malls."

Alex and Jenna then walked through a pair of doors leading into an indoor mall, effectively leaving the little Pidove behind.

**(Ivory's POV)**

I sat on a seat next to Bianca in the Police station as she shakily finished filling out a report on her stolen Pokemon. We had tracked the two gingers up to a mall, but after that, nothing. We realized the only thing we could do was go report it to the police and the League, but there was nothing else we could do.

Bianca quietly stroked Moon and Nightstar remained huddled up on my lap as we completed the report.

"Bad luck you two," the officer said sadly, "you ran into two dangerous criminals not only once, but twice! You're lucky not to be hurt."

Bianca silently nodded her head in acknowledgement, but she said, "do you think I'll ever see my Pokemon again?"

The officer sighed and said, "I'm gonna be honest with you kid, the prospects aren't looking that good. These two are willing to just hand out the Pokemon to anyone for cheap. They aren't even using a fence to sell the Pokemon which means they probably didn't do it for money and they're not afraid of being caught. I think they did this for revenge. There is a strong possibility that they might even just release them into the wild."

Bianca perked up at this, "Oh, that's great! That means they'll come back to me!"

The officer looked at her gravely before saying, "I'm sorry, but this is not a silly show where Pokemon know and are totally loyal to their trainers. This is reality, and the truth is most Pokemon on being released will forget their trainer and go on with their lives. It's kind of an ugly truth, but there it is. Even Pokemon that have been with their trainers for years have shown this tendency. The only Pokemon who don't do this are the ones bonded to Whisperers."

At this Bianca started to cry again. 'Great,' I think irately, 'the officer just has to go on and upset my already devastated friend even more.' I was about to start comforting Bianca when Bianca's phone started to ring. It wasn't her xtransciever so that meant it couldn't be a trainer, so no Black or Cheren.

Bianca answered the phone and confirmed this when she said, "Hello daddy." She sat there listening to her dad for a while before saying "no daddy, I want to continue my journey… I'm still with Ivory, she'll keep me safe from wild Pokemon… fine daddy, but I'll meet you in Nimbassa City, not Castelia… okay daddy… bye, I love you too." She then hung up her phone and looked over at me, "The police told my dad about what happened to my Pokemon and he says he wants me to stop my journey early and come home, but I really do want to be here… even if I only have Moon with me now. He still wants to meet me, but I said to meet at Nimbassa City, not here. I just want to get out of here. If the police do manage to find my Pokemon, they can transfer them to the Nimbassa Pokemon Center."

"Are you sure about this," I ask her, "we can stay as long as you want."

"No," she said shaking her head, "I want to keep going. I already texted N my decision and told him to meet us by the bus station to Nimbassa. I hope you don't mind, but I really didn't want to go through the desert. It's so sandy and gritty… ugh."

"Thank Arceus you don't want to go there either," I say in relief. "I was going to suggest it if you weren't."

"Ivory," Bianca says looking over at me, "Thanks for being such a great friend. You stick by me no matter what happens, and… and you don't expect me to be anything that I'm not. You always support me and don't tell me I need to be one thing or the other. I always felt like all the Gym Leaders, even Black and Cheren, are always telling me what I do wrong. And you, well you see me as I am. A person that has both good things and bad things in them. Thanks for that. Thanks for your constant support."

I lean over and hug Bianca, "I'm glad we're on this journey together as well. You and I have grown so much closer. You know the whole 'coming of age' thing about this journey may actually be true." At this we both laugh.

**(3****rd**** POV: Burgh)**

N stood impatiently as Burgh glared at him and reluctantly started handing him the Insect Badge. "You know," Burgh said quietly, "you shouldn't have won that match."

"What do you mean," N asked sounding slightly annoyed, "My Pokemon are standing and yours aren't."

"True, but I said you shouldn't have won not that you didn't win. You literally used a Tranquill, a flying type to defeat all my Pokemon, including my Dwebble which has a type advantage over your Tranquill. My Dwebble somehow missed your Tranquill when using the smack down every time and your Tranquill easily defeated him. That's not normal even for great trainers," Burgh said quietly.

N shifted uncomfortably for a moment before saying, "I train my Pokemon well. They know where and how to attack."

Burgh said, "I can see that. Clearly, that's why your strategy was to shout out the same command every time while forgetting to tell the Pokemon when and where to hit, or even to tell them to dodge."

"Well I won didn't I, and none of my Pokemon got hurt," N said sourly. He then took the badge and turned to leave when Burgh called out,

"I read the report from Lenora and Cress. You've fought with different Pokemon every time. I can only assume you released them which is already a sign of Pokemon neglect and abuse. Your battling tactics are also reckless and take little consideration for your Pokemon's well-being. If it wasn't for the fact that you win with your Pokemon receiving little to no damage, the League would have already stripped you of your trainer status and taken away your Pokemon."

N froze and turned to glare at Burgh, "are you accusing me of abusing my Pokemon! How dare you! I would never harm my Pokemon, they're my friends!"

Burgh sighed, "N… why are you a trainer? Why are you even fighting in the League? It's clear from the way you battle and even speak about the gym that you hate it. If battling isn't for you, why join at all?"

N paused before saying, "I want to better understand why trainers are so respected. I want to see whether there is any good in this system as well."

Burgh quietly observed N for a moment, he could tell the boy was hiding something due to his more guarded expression, but he had no idea what that might be. He sighed and said, "Fine, get out. I hope to never see you in my gym again."

As the door closed behind N, a beautiful young woman with coppery skin and lush purple hair stepped out from the door leading to the observation deck to the gym floor. Burgh smiled and said, "Ah, Iris. Always a pleasure to see you… I'm guessing you saw that entire thing. Well strike that from your memory when you officially become Champion."

"I'll admit I was a little bit surprised by all that fire you had. You always struck me as a more relaxed and 'open yourself to knew things as long as love is involved' kind of guy."

Burgh laughed, "Well you're not wrong." His expression than grew serious "All jokes aside though, you saw that battle. It made no sense and almost deserves to be put on a sitcom than an actual tournament fight."

"I know," Iris said, "that kid acted more like a toddler giving orders than a trainer. I can't tell you how many times I heard him say 'hit it' or 'attack' than saying an actual move. Your commands, on the other hand, were spot on and perfectly timed, but all your Pokemon moved sluggishly around and got hit by every single one of his haphazard attacks."

"So, do you think I'm right?"

"That he's an unregistered Whisperer fighting in the League, yes. Alder and the Elite Four think so too, which is why they sent me to observe the battle in person rather than just watch the recorded version of it."

"I just can't understand why!? When we looked him up, he had little to no background information. We don't even know his hometown or his birth parents. He's a ghost. Well a ghost that clearly hates the League and is a Whisperer. I just can't see what his motives are. If we somehow decide to let him go through and defeat the League to become Champion, what then? The screening before he's registered into the Hall of Fame would reveal he's a Whisperer which would automatically disqualify him. I just don't see why he would want to do this."

"Drayden and Clay both think that it might have something to do with Team Plasma because he feels so strongly against Pokemon battles."

"So, either Team Plasma sent an operative to go and defeat the League, or the kid's trying to impress them somehow. If Team Plasma really did want to send someone in to become Champion and try to take control of Unova, why would they send a Whisperer? N will be banned no matter how far he goes in the League and then nothing will be accomplished."

"I don't really understand it myself. I sometimes think it might be a statement of some sorts, but they already hold plenty of protests, and their leaders are always travelling around Unova giving speeches and trying to recruit more members. They're a nuisance for sure, but they've also got a lot of political and economic support. Not to mention popularity from all the successful raids they conduct. It does seem a little… unnecessary to send him here to fight."

"Do you think this has anything to do with the report of a potentially rogue Whisperer helping criminals produce Dream Mist?" Burgh asked quietly.

"I don't think so, but you never know. It might. Well, I'm going to inform Elesa about our green haired friend and see what she thinks about him when they battle."

**(Ivory's POV)**

It felt good to finally see the city's skyline fade behind us as we rode in the back of the bus towards Nimbassa. It was kind of sad really, Castelia had been so exciting when we first got there, and it all ended so horribly. I still was sad that Smokey, Fluffy and Pow were gone, but at least we had Moon with us.

'Well I guess not everything had ended horribly in Castelia City,' I thought with a smile as I remembered my "battle" with N. Something had changed between us after that, I could feel it now in the bus. It was like both of us became aware of our feelings for the other and neither of us was willing to admit it. I wasn't quite sure if it would be smart to get into a more serious relationship with N, what with his dad being kind of crazily overprotective and being powerful and wealthy. I also didn't know what N thought of his feelings.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I let the rocking bus relax me and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I wake up when I hear a camera's click and slowly open my eyes to see Bianca squatting in front of me holding a camera. "Bianca," I say groggily, "what are you doing?"

"Taking a picture of you two of course," Bianca whispered back, "look how cute this is," she says as she shows me the picture. I feel my cheeks go to a deep crimson as I look at the picture. It showed me completely curled into N's body with my head nuzzling his chest, an arm draped across his torso, and to top it off my leg crossing over N's leg. All N's doing is have his head drooped down close to my own. 'Why do I have to be the one in the embarrassing position?' To make matters worse, I realize that I'm still in that position right now.

I carefully untangle myself away from N's body and feel my cheeks glowing an even brighter red. Luckily, N's stayed asleep through all this. "Don't show N that picture," I whisper at Bianca.

"Why not? You two are just so cute together. Ivory, you must think I'm blind to not notice you two together. You always brighten up the minute you see N and N watches you when he thinks you don't see him. It's just so cute! You should totally get together! The two Whisperers unite!"

I've probably transformed into a cheri berry at this point because I can't imagine how much deeper red my face could get, "Bianca! You can't just say those kinds of things! We're not anything. Really!"

"Uh-huh," Bianca said teasingly, "anyway, you should wake up your boyfriend, we're almost in Nimbasa City."

I want to punch her, but instead I just gently shake N awake. "We're almost there," I say when he sleepily looks over at me.

Soon enough, our bus pulls into the bus station and we all tumble out and shake our legs out. Nimbesa City is gorgeous. The big Ferris Wheel overlooks a lot of the city and there are dazzling neon lights everywhere. We all look at each and Bianca grins before asking, "Where should we start?"

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was kind of jumbled and all over the place! I hope that you enjoyed it and please R/R!**

**Also, I have Bianca lose her Pokemon for real because Alex and Jenna are competent bad guys. Bianca gets over losing her Pokemon quickly because I'm lazy and don't want to spend a lot of time exploring her emotions when I'm not focusing on her as a main character. If you're wondering, Bianca is very sad about losing her Pokemon, but she doesn't constantly talk about it and she wants to keep going on her journey.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

"The Pokemon did marvelously," Rachel said as walked into the backstage filled with actors and actresses and dozens of Pokemon.

"Thanks, I can't believe you have such an amazing job!" I tell Rachel as I pet Blossom, her Chikorita, "this has been so much fun!"

These last few days I had been interning in the Pokemon Musical where I helped coordinate and calm Pokemon when they were on stage. I was mainly there to help Pokemon stay calm after they danced and the audience was screaming and applauding their performance, but I had no idea how much Rachel, the Musical's Whisperer, did. Most people came and dressed up their Pokemon in whatever manner they wanted and then had them go on the stage and dance to a musical number, but what most of them didn't realize, was that there was a Whisperer, in this case Rachel, who told each Pokemon that ever came on stage to do whatever dance went with the music and setting. I had eventually been allowed to help coordinate the forest stroll because it was the easiest of the dances. It had gone pretty well with only one angry trainer coming up to me and telling me that I had forgotten to tell his Pokemon to let go of the umbrella at the very end of the dance.

"Hey Ivory," I hear George, the Music Director, call to me, "You've got a visitor."

Confused, I walk over to the entrance and see Bianca pacing back and forth nervously. 'How could I forget,' I think to myself, 'this is the day Bianca's dad said he would come and pick her up to bring her back home. Bianca had spent the last few days both attending musicals and visiting the amusement park as well as prepare her speech for her dad. She had already practiced it several times with both me and N, so I was pretty sure she was ready.

"Hey Ivory," she says when she sees me, "so, my dad came early, and he's got the car and everything. What am I supposed to do?"

"What you rehearsed. You've got your speech all written out and memorized, just say it. Don't worry, you'll do great. I'll come with you, if you want."

"Would you, please! I don't think I can do this on my own!"

I follow Bianca outside as she walks out over to the parking lot by the Pokemon Musical where her dad is waiting for her by their car. Her dad rushed up to her and hugged her, "Oh my little Skitty are you alright!? You aren't hurt, are you? I'm so sorry about your Pokemon getting stolen. Where are your things? Are they still at the Pokemon Center?"

"Daddy," Bianca says as she straitens and tries to maintain eye contact with her father, "I'm not going back home with you. I should have been brave and told you on the phone so you wouldn't have to come all this way for me, but I'm saying it now. This journey, even though it's been really hard, has been one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've met so many new people and I've learned important things about myself from all of this. I've learned that I'm stronger than I ever imagined and that I can pick myself up after falling and become better. Even though I'm heartbroken that I've lost most of my Pokemon, I refuse to let that be the end for me. I'm going to keep pressing forward until I've finished my journey. I know you're worried about me, but please remember that I'm going to face danger no matter where I go, and I must face it on my own. I'm my own person, daddy, please just let me grow and become stronger all on my own."

Bianca's dad looks at her for a moment before saying "…Bianca that was amazing what you said but remember that your mother and I worry about you all the time. We worry that we'll get a phone call from the police saying that you've vanished or that you were killed in an accident. I love you Bianca, and I just want what's best for you,"

When Bianca's dad had said this, Bianca had raced up to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much for loving me daddy. I love you too, but this is what's best for me. I need to be my own person. I need to grow my own wings and fly all by myself. I've had such great experiences here that I don't want them to stop."

"Bianca's also helped me grow a lot too," I say. "She's helped me be a better person and I think she's been getting stronger on her own without any Pokemon."

Bianca's dad looks sad and he embraces Bianca even tighter and say, "I miss you."

Bianca hugs him back and says "I miss you too, but we all have to grow up some day. Thank you for being so supportive. You were willing to come all the way to Nimbassa City just for me. I really appreciate that. I love you daddy!"

"I love you too sweetie. I'll admit that I still want to take you back with me, but I know you're right. If it isn't now, it will be when you go to college. Even though college is a lot safer and you're less likely to get hurt, but that can also be dangerous. You're right Bianca, and you being brave enough to tell me yourself shows me that you've grown up. Alright, be safe and take this," he said as he handed her some pepper spray, "now if you see any more crooks you can spray them and protect yourself without Pokemon."

"Thanks daddy," Bianca says. I walk next to her and squeeze her hand reassuringly as Bianca's dad got in his car and drove off. Bianca turned and hugged me, "Thank you, Ivory."

"Come on," I say to her and walk with her into town, "let's get something to eat and maybe watch a game at the stadium. I hear it's volleyball, you played volleyball in school, right?"

"Yeah," Bianca said her excitement and bubbliness already starting to come back.

As we walked down the street, to my surprise I see a bunch of Team Plasma members standing around and protesting something. I looked at one of the signs and read 'Say no to breeding' and 'Pokemon love too.' There was a Plasma guy standing at the head of the crowd and was pointing accusingly at an older gentleman and totally ripping up on him for secretly participating in Pokemon breeding.

"I'm just a daycare man! I don't work on those farms that specifically breed certain types of Pokemon by using Ditto. I agree that that's unethical. Trainers will sometimes just bring in Pokemon of the same species and they just-"

"Shut up! We don't believe you! Your license as a Daycare Manager should be revoked! I hope that one day all of those sick Daycares are shut down."

To my surprise, Black comes up and stands protectively in front of the Daycare man and yells, "What in the Distortion World are you doing?! You're harassing this poor guy and he hasn't done anything to you!"

"He may not have done anything to me," the Plasma guy said passionately, "but he has done horrible things to Pokemon. We're here to represent the unspoken words of Pokemon everywhere."

I rolled my eyes and thought 'no wonder Team Plasma gets such a bad rap. They can sure sound like a bunch of close-minded idiots.' I was about to walk forward and say something when Black stepped in and said:

"And what about him," Black said gesturing to the Daycare man, "doesn't he get a say in all this! You refuse to listen to him. If you're trying to get us to think of Pokemon and humans as equals shouldn't you extend the same courtesy to your fellow humans?"

The man blinked and said "-uh" 'Got him,' I thought happily.

Before anyone could say anything else, a beautiful woman in a very sexy outfit walked up and said, "what's the meaning of this?"

The Plasma dude visibly pales and says, "Gym Leader Elesa! Um… we're just practicing our right of Freedom of Speech! We have a right to protest!"

"Yes, and all other citizens have the right of protection from harassment of any individual or group of people without due cause. I saw you verbally abusing this poor man, and I find that completely unacceptable. I'm going to ask you all to disassemble and leave. Now."

The members of Team Plasma all start grumbling, but they start to disperse leaving Black, the old man, Bianca, Elesa, and I standing on the street.

"Young man," the man said turning to Black, "thank you so much for standing up to defend me! I'm sure that must have been intimidating to stand up to that crowd." He then handed Black a large amount of money and said, "here, buy a bike or something."

Elesa walked up to the Daycare Man and said, "I'm sorry about that. Nimbassa City is normally open and accepting, but Team Plasma has gotten a little more… vocal."

"That's alright, we have Team Plasma by Striaton as well, so we're used to it. I just wanted to come here and possibly expand my business, but then Team Plasma found out and got this protest going. I'll be honest and say that I was about to agree to not build here, but seeing this trainer and you, Gym Leader Elesa, inspired me to continue."

"I'm happy to hear that," Elesa said with a smile. The man walked off down the street and Elesa turned to Black, "thanks for standing up to that guy. You're names Black, right? I remember our Gym battle; you were pretty good."

Black beamed in pride and said, "yep, that's me! I'm just annoyed at those Plasma guys. They're all so obnoxious! Whenever I run into one, they act like I'm horrible for being a trainer and try to guilt trip me into quitting. They think they're so high and mighty like no one else in the world cares about Pokemon besides them."

Bianca and I glance at each other and both of us look down at our bags to look at the Plasma pins we have on them. I think that Team Plasma was totally wrong in this situation, but everything, no matter how good it might potentially be, has bad things about it. I agreed with a lot of what Plasma said, especially whenever I listened to N, the Sages, or the Plasma Whisperers. Even Ghetsis made some good points when he wasn't threatening people.

To my surprise Elesa says: "it's a real pity that Team Plasma has become so radical. They've actually done a lot of good. They helped clean up the streets from illegal trafficking and are faster to find Pokemon abuse than we are. Their policies aren't half bad, but they've gotten too carried away and so many members are caught up in their Team that they won't listen to reason. I honestly hope that one day Team Plasma and The League will be able to work together at some point."

Black notices both me and Bianca at that point and says "Bianca!... Ivory."

'Well I'm so glad you're pleased to see me too big bro,' I think sarcastically. I try to brush it off, but I can't help but feel really hurt that he isn't pleased to see me. I was really happy that we had finally met on our journeys. I'll admit that I had originally wanted to travel with all three of them: Cheren, Bianca, and Black, but well life happened, and I haven't even seen Black until now. I guess Black didn't feel the same way about seeing me.

"…hey Black," Bianca said distantly.

"Ah you three know each other. That's great! I'll leave you be then," Elesa than turned and headed off toward the amusement park, leaving us in an uncomfortable situation.

"Okay," Bianca says suddenly, "No one else is going to say it, so I will! Black! Come on! It's me and your sister Ivory! You should be happy to see us and not just to battle with me or something! Why not ask us to join you for lunch, catch up on our journeys, and maybe share stories!"

Black sighed and smiled, "you're right Bianca. Tell me about how your journey's been going."

"Well… actually it's been kind of rough. We've run into a couple of criminals… and… and…"

"Hey Black," Cheren calls as he spots him down the street, "Wanna have a Pokemon battle?... Oh, Ivory and Bianca!? What are you doing here?"

"We're on our journeys, dummy," Bianca huffed indignantly, "why is it surprising that we're here."

Cheren blinked in surprise and said, "um… well… I just figured you'd be in your group or something and looking at a museum."

"I'll have you know that I've been travelling without my group since the beginning! It's why I texted both of you and asked you guys if you wanted to join me and Ivory on our journeys! Both of you never responded! Do you even look at those stupid xtransciever things!?"

Cheren looked abashed and said, "… well we've been busy training. It takes a lot of time to train your Pokemon and develop a strategy."

"So you're saying that you've been out in the forest training your Pokemon 24/7 with absolutely no time to call us and say how you're doing?"

"You're right Bianca," Black said softly, "We should have called, but a journey, especially the Masters Journey which we've taken, requires us to be alone most of the time. If we're going to be the best, we have to spend us much time with our Pokemon to see how they fight, gauge their weaknesses and strengths, and develop a strategy to work around them. Do you know what we do in our spare time, Bianca? We study other battles done by the best. I can't tell you how many matches I've watched where someone challenges the Elite Four or the Champion. What have you two done? Cuddled Pokemon and seen a million Musicals!?"

Bianca looks like she's about to cry and said, "you have no idea what we've been through on our journey!"

"Besides," I interjected, "how do you know we wouldn't have been able to help you? A journey is about becoming better as a person and making lasting friendships between people and Pokemon. It's not just about becoming stronger! Maybe we could have helped in your training!"

"By what," Black snapped finally turning to look at me, "by stopping my battles or telling me to connect more to my Pokemon. What would you know about being a trainer? You don't even know what Nightstar's moves are. I doubt you even know that it's weak against ground type."

"You don't understand Hilbert-"

Black's eyes flashed with fury and he yelled "MY NAME IS BLACK! And it's you who doesn't understand Ivory! You've always gotten anything you've ever wanted. Why is it that during the summer, you can go wherever place you want just to have people cater to your every need, and when I finally get to do something on my own, you have to come in and take it away from me. It's always been 'Ivory this' or 'Ivory that' with mom and dad. Even when you do something like skip school to hang out in the woods, people are fine with it. Everyone has always told you that you're special and they treat you with respect. Whenever we visit dad in his lab, all the other scientists ignore me and go straight to you. Can you imagine how that makes me feel? To always be outclassed by your little sister. To have everyone care more about you than me? Now you expect me to be happy to see you. Well I'm not Ivory. I wish you would have stayed home and left me alone to at least have this one thing to myself!"

I'm speechless at this. I felt so stupid for not even thinking about my brother's feelings when I decided that I wanted to go on a journey. I felt ashamed and I can't keep back the tears that are forming in my eyes, "I'm sorry," I say in a barely audible voice before turning and running away.

"Ivory," I hear Black call, but it's too little too late. In this moment, I just wish I could disappear forever.

* * *

I found myself staring out into Nimbasa City's bay in the amusement park with bushes surrounding me to conceal me from view. I'd already gotten several calls from Bianca, a couple from Cheren and later when I kept not responding to them from N and even from the Musical, but none from Black. I ignored all of them. It had already been several hours since Black and I had had our fight, but the words still stung, and I couldn't get over them.

I would have never believed that Black had felt that way about me before. I knew he had started to become a little distant when I had started going to my internships, but I had no idea he resented me for that. I never thought me being a Whisperer would get in the way of my family. Nightstar nuzzled against my chest, but I didn't pet him.

The more time that had passed between that incident, the angrier I became. 'I can't do anything about the fact that I'm a Whisperer,' I thought angrily to myself. 'I was born this way. I didn't ask for this. Besides, Black has no idea what I must go through to be a Whisperer. Maybe I get special attention, but it's not always in a good way. There's always a ton of security and people start worrying about me if I go missing for too long… they're probably worried now.' I think gloomily to myself. 'Well let them.'

I sighed and looked down at Nightstar who stared back up at me. He'd always been with me through everything, my closest friend. If not being a Whisperer meant that I couldn't be with Nightstar and understand him on the deep level that we did, then I didn't want it. But it would be nice to not have all the rest of the baggage that came with it.

I feel a sudden chill, as if I'm being looked at, and I whip around to see if anyone's there. Nothing. Only the sound of happy amusement park patrons wandering around. I sigh and continue to look out at the bay. I watch as the sun lowers closer to the horizon, making the water and sky gleam in a more orangish hue.

Suddenly I hear some rustling when out pops Trixie from the bushes who excitedly chatters when she sees me. More rustles and I see N who looks completely relieved to see me.

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright Ivory," N says quickly kneeling next to me, "we were all so worried! What happened?"

I stare at the ground for a moment before whispering, "my brother hates me."

N looks startled and slightly confused. To be honest, I don't think N even knew that I had a sibling seeing as how they've never actually met. He regains his composure and says, "I'm sure that's not true, Ivory. When I was younger, I used to fight with my oldest sister Concordia all the time. I always thought she was too protective and wouldn't let me do anything because she wouldn't let me leave the woods, even to go get supplies for our home. One day… well you didn't know this, but I followed you home. I wanted to see the world you came from. I thought Nuvema was amazing and so big. Everyone seemed nice, and I couldn't understand why we lived by ourselves in the woods. Anyway, Concordia found me and Trixie playing in an empty playground with other Pokemon and she was furious. We've never had such a terrible fight. I-I even told her that I hated her. It was awful for a couple of days, but eventually I apologized, and she did as well, and everything went back to normal."

I stared at him for a moment. I had no idea that that had happened. He had never told me about that, and you would have never guessed it by the way the three acted around each other. Concordia had always been more like a protective mother than a sister to her two younger siblings and especially with N. Anthea was also like that, but she was a little more up to doing fun things and would sometimes play with us in the woods while Concordia would silently watch over us. I finally say, "so… you're telling me that I should apologize to my brother and things will go back to being normal."

N smiled and said, "yes, and they may even get a little better. Come on, let's get out of these bushes." He takes my hand and walks me through the amusement park. N smiles as he looks up at the large Ferris Wheel, "you know," he says quietly, "I've never been on a Ferris Wheel before."

"You haven't?" I ask, "well let me be the one to educate you about it." I then steer him towards the Ferris Wheel and get in the short line for it.

"Shouldn't we go see Bianca and your brother?" N asked halfheartedly, but I could tell that he wanted to go on it as well.

"They can wait a little longer… besides, I still don't really want to face my brother." 'and I want to spend more time alone with you,' I think to myself. I feel myself blush and I glance up at N who smiles slightly. 'He knows… should have just said it out loud,' I mentally reprimand myself for having such readable expressions.

To my surprise, Nightstar and Trixie (who's disguised as a little girl again) step away from the line when we get to the front. Both N and I stare at them, but Trixie grins and makes little shooing motions with her hands while Nightstar just winks and smiles at me coyly. 'Does everyone know that me and N have feelings for each other!?'

We slide into the carriage and we're slowly taken up into the sky. I feel very aware that it's just me and him in a small area. It's almost like all my senses are heightened and I can't help but feel as if the temperature were rising. "Thank you," I said quietly, "thank you for everything. I can't tell you how happy I am that we've been able to spend this time travelling together and getting to know each other even better than before."

N takes my hand and looks in my eyes and says, "I feel the same way. I feel as if we've never stopped being friends even during the years that we were apart. You make me feel and think so differently, Ivory," N says as he looks at me with sincerity, "You are so open to everyone's views and you're kind and thoughtful to the people and Pokemon around you. You're also brave. You stand up for the people you love even when others won't."

"I feel the same way about you N," I say breathily.

N glances away and looks out the window before saying "there are things that you don't know about me, Ivory. Things that I have to keep secret, but I would tell you in an instant if I could."

"I don't care what those things are. We all have secrets N."

"Well… at least let me tell you this secret," N then takes both my hands in his and leans forward and looks deeply into my eyes, "Ivory Greystorm, for quite a while now I've been started thinking about you more than a friend. I think about you all the time and I worry about you when you're not around. Ivory… I love you."

I feel my eyes begin to water as I lean toward him and whisper, "I love you too." Our lips find each other and we both kiss in the fading light of the sun and over the lights of Nimbasa City.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please R/R!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

'Her hair is so soft and her eyes so blue,' N thinks as both exit the Ferris Wheel hand in hand. N was still slightly dazed at everything that had happened. He'd never kissed anyone before, and it had been with Ivory. He smiled as he held her hand. 'Perhaps one day, when Team Plasma has established themselves as the new system of government in Unova, I'll ask her to be my Queen.' N shook his head, 'it's way too early to start thinking like that,' N chided himself.

Trixie and Nightstar stood waiting for them. _"Sooo did you kiss?"_ N blushed at her question and Trixie said, _"We were totally right Nightstar!"_

_"I know,"_ Nightstar said, _"I'm just surprised it took this long!"_

He decided to ignore them as he looked over at Ivory who gazed up at him fondly before sighing and saying, "I guess I'll have to face the music won't I?"

"I promise it won't be that bad. Your brother loves you. I'm not so sure Bianca will be as quick to forgive you. She was practically hysterical with worry when I left her."

Ivory groaned and said, "I know! I shouldn't have stayed hidden for so long! Now everyone's freaked out. I'm probably going to get an earful for running off."

"I can come with you and soften the blow if you'd like," N said while feeling a twinge of guilt. He was supposed to be battling the Nimbasa Gym Leader right now, but he felt that Ivory was more important.

Ivory laughed before saying, "you don't need to soften the blows, but I would really appreciate it if you were there."

N smiled and offered her his arm and asked, "shall we?"

_"What century do you live in N_?" Trixie said in irritation, _"do you see any other couple doing that. Now that you and Ivory are together, I'm going to have to teach you a few things."_

Ivory smiled and took his arm and together they started to walk towards the park exit, but on their way their he felt his body stiffen when he saw three familiar faces. The Shadow Triad somehow managed to look terrifying even in civilian clothes. They glared at him as they stalked toward him and Ivory. N felt Ivory stiffen with fear and heard Nightstar growl, _"you mess with her, you mess with me," _as his tail sparked dangerously.

One of the Triad, Katashi, came up to them and growled at Ivory, "leave now, girl."

Ivory looked startled before glaring at him and saying, "excuse me! I have just as much a right to be here as you do!"

"Enough of this nonsense" growled Takeo, as he pulled out a bottle of Dream Mist and threw a handful of it at Ivory's face. "leave."

"Okay," Ivory said dreamily as she let go of N's arm and skipped towards the exit while saying in a sing-songy voice, "come on Nightstar."

Nightstar looked confused and said, _"… what just happened?"_

"They hit her with Dream Mist," N explained to Nightstar, "it's been tempered so that it makes a person more open to suggestion. You should go with her and make sure she doesn't get hurt."

_"Okay. Be careful N, these creeps are dangerous. Trixie, if anything happens, kick their tails back to whatever hole they crawled out of."_

_"Will do,"_ Trixie said.

Nightstar ran after Ivory as Katashi approached N he again threw Dream Mist in the air and grabbed N's arm to teleport him away. They appeared again in a random field not too far from the Nimbasa City's Gym.

N yanked his arm out of Katashi's arm and yelled, "Why did you do that?! I was perfectly safe!"

"Yes, and perfectly disobeying orders as well," Takeo snarled at him. "We found that girl so that you would finally stop wasting your time looking for her and go on with your mission to get the fourth badge. Instead, you decide to have a nice little date with the girl."

"I am your King," N growled at them, "I don't take orders from anyone and I certainly don't take threats."

"Have the Sages taught you nothing," Katashi sneered, "your obligation is to your subjects which is Team Plasma. You have a duty to serve them and you are supposed to do that by collecting the Gym Badges until Team Plasma is prepared for you to summon Zekrom. You should already be headed toward Driftveil City by now. You are failing your subjects as well as breaking your oath to protect and lead these people by your selfish desires to be with this girl."

N looked down in shame, they were right. He had made an oath when he was crowned King that he would serve and protect his human and Pokemon subjects. Ever since he was returned home to his father, he had been raised with the knowledge that he would one day be King and bring a new order to the Unova Region. He had also been told that a King's loyalty was always to his subjects and that he should never put his own desires above theirs.

N looked up and said, "I apologize for my behavior. You're right, I should have remembered our cause and my subjects." N then turned from the Shadow Triad and walked swiftly towards the Nimbasa Gym.

The Shadow Triad watched as he entered the gym. Katashi growled, "first he wanders off recklessly through the roughest streets of Castelia and now he's putting his feelings for some stupid girl above his mission."

"I think," a voice quietly says. Katashi and Takeo immediately straighten to attention as their silent leader, Osamu, spoke. "we should report the young king's poor behavior to Master Ghetsis. He was right when he said we should be wary of the girl. If she steals the boy's heart, she may convince him to not summon Zekrom, and we will _not_ let that happen."

The other two immediately brought out their daggers while Katashi said eagerly, "shall we eliminate her?"

"No. Not yet anyways."

* * *

"Dezerea use tackle," N called as his Sandile proceeded to use the move assurance on the foes Emolga.

"Quick, dodge it," but Emolga didn't react fast enough and the Sandile's attacked came and knocked Emolga out with a critical hit.

"Return," Elesa said as the Emolga was encompassed about by a red light. "Your Pokemon seems to have a mind of its own," Elesa called out to N dryly. "He also appears to be a better strategist and fighter than you are."

Elesa then brought out her final Pokemon which she had contained in an ultra ball. One of her attendants gasped when she saw the ball and came running over to whisper in Elesa's ear. "Elesa! What are you doing!? You're about to use a Pokemon you took with you to the Pokemon League. Isn't that against the rules to use such a strong Pokemon against a weak opponent?"

"Not when you have special permission from Alder himself," Elesa said gently in return.

Elesa threw out her Pokeball revealing an Elektross and said to N, "your move."

To everyone's astonishment, aside from Elesa that is, the young Sandile managed to beat Elesa's Elektross. Half the time the Elektross seemed to just stand there and take a beating or move along sluggishly and completely miss N's Sandile all together.

After the battle, Elesa said nothing as she handed N the badge before asking N seriously, "why are you here?"

N then proceeded to say the same thing he had told Burgh.

Elesa than asked, "who do you work for?"

N looked genuinely surprised at that question and he said "no one. I'm here because I want to be earning the Gym Badges."

"Do you honestly think you earned it?"

"Yes. I won, didn't I?"

"A student cheats on his final exam; he deserves his good grade, correct?" Elesa asks accusingly.

"…Are you accusing me of cheating?" N asked slowly.

"No. An accusation implies that it could be disproven. I'm saying that you are," Elesa says coldly.

"I'm not cheating. Maybe I'm not good at giving orders, but my Pokemon are trained well enough that they know the best move to use in any situation. As for your Pokemon, well perhaps they aren't feeling as well or simply don't feel like fighting."

Elesa stared at him for a moment before saying, "It must be hard to release all your Pokemon all the time. Surely there's a special Pokemon you like to keep around."

"No," N says while shaking his head, "I prefer my Pokemon to be free and to not be subjected to a life of sparring. They only have to do this for a limited time."

"Yes, but surely you got attached to at least one of them," Elesa said quietly. "When I went on my journey, I became quite attached to an Emolga I named Angelina. It's why I fight with so many Emolgas during my Gym Battles."

N just shakes his head and says, "No, I love all my Pokemon equally."

"Well do you at least have a favorite type?"

N hesitated for a moment before saying "dark."

Elesa smiled and said, "dark type Pokemon are hard to train, but if you ever do feel like training them, I wish you the best of luck."

N actually smiled for the first time and said, "Thanks," before turning and leaving the gym while Elesa's attendants stood and stared at him in disbelief.

One of her attendants turned to Elesa and asked, "what… how… how could he win against one of your own Pokemon?"

Instead of replying Elesa simply said, "I need to contact the League," as she turned and left the battlefield and entered her office. It was getting late, but she decided to call the Elite Four and Champion Alder anyway. When they answered, their faces appeared on a screen in front of her.

"I battled that kid, N Gropius, and I can confirm without a doubt that he's a Whisperer. He was able to defeat my Elektross which is in its level 80s with a level 28 Sandile. I still wasn't able to get a reason for him wanting to fight the League, but I did try to find out what his partner Pokemon might be. I think it's a dark type and I don't think any of us have seen it since none of the League have seen him with a Pokemon outside of its pokeball."

"Good work, Elesa. I'm close to Nimbasa City at the moment. I've been trying to investigate the disappearance of the Light Stone, but I haven't been able to find anything."

"You probably won't until you hear about a fire being started," Grimsley said dryly. "I honestly have no idea why people are stupid and try to summon the goddess and god of Unova. Just because some humans were able to work with them in the past does not mean they want to now. You'd think that whoever had the resources to find out where Reshiram's stone was would also be able to find the public reports of idiots who tried to summon them being burned to a crisp or electrocuted. They don't accept just anyone who thinks their cause is worthy enough to be deemed heroic."

"'I'm well aware of that," Alder said, "but it would be nice to get the Stone safely back into the League's hands without a pile of bodies on our hands."

"Well it might solve some problems if it did," Grimsley said flatly.

"Anyway," Caitlin said interrupting them, "getting back to the situation at hand. Why don't we just throw the kid out of the League, take him into custody, and bring him to Nuvema Lab to be registered as a Whisperer? If he's in our custody, we can ask him about who he works for without any pretense that we think he's just a trainer."

"I agree with Caitlin," Shauntel said, "this has gone on long enough. He already has four unearned badges."

Alder was quiet for a moment before saying, "Whoever he's working for might be really powerful. If we stop N now, his puppet masters might disappear, and I don't want that to happen. I want him to be investigated so he can eventually lead us to whoever is actually calling the shots."

Elesa then said, "what can I do to help?"

"Nothing for now. You've already done enough. Keep Nimbasa City safe and be on the look out for any suspicious behavior."

"I will sir," Elesa said, and with that she signed off and ended the call leaving a blank screen.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

"Ivory!" Bianca cried "Where have you been?"

I snap to attention and shake my head in confusion. 'what just happened?' I thought to myself, 'the last thing I remember was that we saw the Shadow Triad while we were walking out of the park. Now I'm suddenly by the Pokemon Musical where Rachel, George, Bianca, and Cheren all stood.'

"Um… what?" I ask stupidly before remembering me running off for several hours without contacting anyone, "Oh right. I'm sorry that I ran off like that. I just needed to get my thoughts together and spend some time by myself."

"That was very irresponsible young lady," George said, "you could have gotten hurt or worse. We've sent security out searching for you as well"

'Oh great. Now I feel bad again.' "I'm really sorry," I insisted, "I should have called someone and told you where I was."

Rachel sighed, "well there's nothing that we can do about it now. Just as long as you're safe."

Bianca rushed up to me and hugged me, "don't ever do something stupid like that again! We were about to call Elesa and tell her to come help us look for you! Luckily you showed up!"

Cheren also approaches me and says in embarrassment, "I'm sorry that I haven't been a better friend and contacted you. I promise to do better in the future."

"Where's Black?" I ask quietly.

Bianca and Cheren glanced at each other before Cheren said slowly, "he's already gone off to Driftveil City to challenge Clay, the next Gym Leader."

"Oh," I look at the ground and say nothing.

"If it helps, Professor Juniper was furious with Black when she found out about what happened."

"Professor Juniper knows?" I ask glumly.

"Um… yeah. The Musical kind of called her after you were missing for more than five hours."

'How long have I been away?' I think to myself, 'the Musical I had helped with had been in the morning, and I had gone into town with Bianca around 11:00.' I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was now almost 10 at night. 'That's weird,' I thought to myself, 'when I was with N, it was sunset and couldn't have been past 8. What happened in those two hours? Was I just literally wandering the streets?'

"She's kind of mad at you too though. So, you might want to call her… now."

I groan and say, "alright, let's go in first though."

We all go into the Musical hall and I walk a little way away and pull out my phone. I see that I have five missed calls from Professor Juniper, seven from my dad, and about twenty from my mom. I sigh and call Professor Juniper first.

"Young lady what were you thinking running off like that," Professor Juniper yells after she first confirms that I'm safe and well. "Anything could have happened to you and Nimbasa City is enormous! I might have to revoke your journey!"

"What! No please don't do that!" I say desperately, "I really do want to be here, and I won't do anything like that again."

I hear Professor Juniper sigh before saying, "Look, I understand why you did it. I have quite a few things to say to that brother of yours, but you should know better than to be by yourself. If it happens again, you will have to come back home. And another thing, I'm not sure you should be travelling all the routes with just Bianca."

"Oh, I'm not," I assure her, "I'm also travelling with a guy named N."

"You're travelling with N?" I hear her ask slowly, "well then I think you should definitely try to stick to public transportation as much as possible. Be careful around that boy, Ivory. He could be dangerous."

'Huh? How does Professor Juniper even know who N is, and why would she say he's dangerous?' "Um… okay, but Professor, he's really nice and we get along great together." 'more than great' I think to myself, 'thank Arceus she doesn't know that I kissed him.'

"Just be careful Ivory," Professor Juniper cautioned.

The next call to my parents was also hard. My mom cried the entire time and asked me to come back while my dad was angry and acted more like Professor Juniper. I didn't bother telling them about N though. Ghetsis was crazy enough and I didn't need any more parents telling me we were a bad match or something like that.

* * *

It was a relief to leave Nimbasa City the next day. Cheren parted ways from me and Bianca while we stood waiting for our bus to come. He was going to continue training his Pokemon, but he promised that once he got into town, he would come and visit me and Bianca in the small lab that I would be interning at.

"Where's N," Bianca asked, "he should be here by now."

I looked around; I was worried about him too. I had left him alone with those creepy ninjas and he hadn't answered when I texted or called him. I knew they were his bodyguards, but I was still nervous that they might have beat him up or dragged him back to Castelia City to get a lecture from his dad.

Suddenly I see N's signature green hair and I feel my heart start beating faster. N looks up and smiles at us, but it seems more distant than last time. I run up to him and have to stop myself from throwing my arms around him and embracing him. "Where have you been?" I demanded, "I've been so worried about you!"

"It should be me apologizing. I'm sorry about what my guards did to you… that was completely uncalled for. I do have some bad news though; I have to go straight to Driftveil city from here. I won't be able to accompany you down the route."

"That's okay," Bianca said who was now standing next to me, "We were going to catch a bus going there anyway! You can come with us!"

"Or even better," N said, "I could offer you two a ride to Driftveil City. It'll be much faster than a bus."

"Awesome! We'll be there in no time," Bianca cheered enthusiastically.

We followed N to a car parked at the side of the road and he opens up the door politely for us. Bianca gets in first and says teasingly, "you better not be kidnapping us in this fancy car of yours Mister."

N just laughed as he slid in next to me and closed the door, "wouldn't dream of it."

The car ride was nice and smooth while the driver was eerily quiet. "So," I say in an attempt to break the silence, "why do you need to get to Driftveil city?"

N suddenly looks very serious and says, "Team Plasma is conducting a raid on one of the Driftveil ports. There's been reports of Team Rocket activity there, and I've been asked to come and help."

"A raid," Bianca whispers, "that's pretty intense. Can we help out in any way?"

"Team Plasma is looking for volunteers, if you'd like, you can come along. We're actually coordinating and working with the League on this one."

It was surprising how quickly we got to Driftveil city, but I guess that's because I was used to walking everywhere at this point. We pull up to one of the docks that was full of warehouses where I saw a group of people dressed in gray with the Team Plasma insignia embroidered on their shirts. 'They kind of look like knights from the dark ages or something,' I think to myself. There was one guy who was older and dressed more fancily than the others who appeared to be giving orders.

We step out of the car and walk out towards the group to hear the guy say, "Now we will be working with the League," he said gesturing towards Clay and a couple of other guys in ski suits, "so give them complete courtesy and let them be the first to attack when we open the warehouses. The police have already formed a perimeter around this area, so no Rocket member should be able to escape. Okay, now separate into your assigned groups."

The groups were divided, and each were led by one League member and one Whisperer. I saw Aria, Max, Liesel, and Isaac in different groups, and they were all dressed in knight costumes. It was kind of funny to see them in those outfits. 'Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to dress up like that?'

I look over at the old guy and the Gym Leader and was surprised to see that Black was with them. 'Why was he here?'

The old guy looks up at us as we approach. Clay does as well, and I see that he narrows his eyes suspiciously at N. Black looks at me and he seems about to say something, but he apparently thinks better of it.

"Do you wish to volunteer and help us," the old man asks.

"They seem kind of young to be going into a raid of this nature," Clay says gruffly. "Especially this one," Clay says pointing at me.

"I suppose your right, but this one is a trainer isn't he," the guy said gesturing towards N.

"Hey so am I!" Bianca says indignantly.

"You may come along if you wish, but you" the guy says to me, "should stay here and wait with the officers and some of our men."

I can see that there's no point in arguing with him. I can tell that Clay also agrees with the old guy, so I just nod and walk over to where the police officers and a couple of members of Team Plasma are.

"Alright," Clay said, "let's go."

* * *

Black watches as his sister turns and leaves before turning back to Clay and Zinzolin with the other Plasma dorks. Bianca and N join the group, but while N is walking past Zinzolin, Zinzolin subtly passes a pokeball and whispers something to N. Black looked at the two suspiciously, 'did they know each other? What was that about? Since when had Team Plasma gotten so friendly with trainers?' Black looked over at Clay to see if he had noticed as well, but Clay was busily giving instructions to his men about the raid.

Black watched as the green haired kid disappeared behind a warehouse. He came back in a few moments and whispered something to one of the Plasma members who then walked up to Zinzolin and whispered something. It was like a game of telephone or something.

Zinzolin turned and announced to the group, "We've gathered intel that the Rockets are storing their remaining illegal goods in warehouses 3 and 5. The rest of Team Plasma and the League can raid the already known areas and this group will raid the last two."

Clay turned to Black and said, "are you ready boy?"

Black nodded. After defeating Clay and earning his fifth Gym badge, which was easy because he had Blade with him, Clay had said that Professor Juniper had called him and told him about what had happened between him and Ivory the day before. That was surprising and annoying at the same time. 'It's a personal matter,' Black had thought, 'Professor Juniper has no right to tell other people about things like that.'

To Black's surprise, Clay said: "I know you think it isn't any of my business to know about personal things like that, but she mainly told me that so that I would agree to let you come along on one of the raids Team Plasma is having. You'll see when we go and afterwards, I expect you to apologize to your sister immediately."

'So, this all about Ivory again isn't it,' Black thought seething, 'when wasn't it? If I had been a crybaby and ran off somewhere, no one would have cared. It's always about Ivory.'

He was still annoyed that he had been roped into this, but the faster he got this over with the faster he could move on with his journey and get away from these Plasma idiots.

The group quickly moved forward. They saw occasional Pokemon battles between Rocket and Plasma/League members, but their group didn't really encounter any. They got to the 5th warehouse where they broke in and battled a few Rocket members. The battles weren't even that great because with the Whisperer on their team, the battle easily went to the League. The Rockets were taken and handcuffed while Black helped unlock the cages of the captured Pokemon.

Black had never seen Pokemon like this before, only in books or on TV. Most of the Pokemon were from different regions and some of them had different colorings to set them apart from their normal species. Surprisingly, none of the Pokemon seemed that upset to be in cages. Most of them seemed calm and quiet and were easily put into pokeballs by League members so that they could be transported to the nearest Pokemon Center.

The raid went smoothly, and soon the warehouse was cleaned of illegal goods. Then they went to Warehouse number 3 and Black noticed that the mood in the group got visibly darker. The Plasma members who had previously been bashing Team Rocket about how horrible they were, grew quiet. Black glanced over at Clay to see that he looked even more serious than ever… if that was even possible.

He looked over at Bianca and was surprised to see that she wasn't even there. Black looked around and saw that a couple of officers and Plasma members were walking away with her and talking to her happily. 'What's going on here? Are we going to open the warehouse and see a bunch of stoned Rockets or something?'

Clay had his Krokodile bash his way through the door of the warehouse and then they all walked gravely inside. Lined along the side of the Warehouse were Pokemon in clear glass cages like they had seen the other Pokemon in, but these were different. In the other warehouse, the Pokemon had been stored by types, these ones appeared to have no pattern. But the thing that caught Black off guard was the way the Pokemon looked and behaved. He could tell by looking at these Pokemon that they were fully aware of what was happening to them and they were terrified. Their eyes were brimming with intelligence and understanding, something he hadn't even seen in his own Pokemon. When they saw the group, they immediately ran to the glass and began crying out to them. Black noticed that they all seemed to be pointing to a door down the hallway.

The group quickly released the Pokemon from their cages and every single one of them jumped from their cages and ran over to the door at the end of the hallway and started attacking it in order to break it down. The group ran over to them just as they had knocked it down.

The next thing that Black saw absolutely horrified him. This room was also full of cages, but instead of Pokemon, there were people. There were about six people of various ages, one of the girls looked no older than twelve, and the Pokemon that had just been released ran up to them.

"They're Whisperers," Black said quietly as Team Plasma quickly ran over to release them.

Clay nodded solemnly as the Whisperers were released and tackled by their Pokemon. One of the Plasma Whisperers ran over to one of the prisoners and cried, "Oh Ella we were so worried about you! We never stopped looking for you when we found out you were missing!" The girl Ella then, with tears in her eyes and a Mimikyu on her shoulder, hugged the other Whisperer, then Zinzolin and weirdly enough, N.

She whispered, "Thank you so much for finding me. I never stopped hoping that you would."

The Whisperers were taken outside and each of them were taken by police officers to the hospital. Black just stared after them, not really believing what he had just seen. At that point, Clay walked up to him and placed his hand on Black's shoulder before saying, "Not a lot of people talk about it, but the rates of Whisperer kidnapping are obscenely high. They are the most trafficked population of any kind including children and women from poor parts of town. If a Whisperer goes missing for more than a day, it's assumed that they were abducted." Clay now turned to fully face Black, "I know that it seems like Whisperers get special treatment, but that's because they're so powerful. Criminals are willing to pay a lot of money to exploit them for their powers. It's why the League monitors them so carefully. To keep them safe. The reason why people notice and worry so much about your sister is because people like Team Rocket exist. Your sister went missing for almost ten hours yesterday. We're lucky we didn't find her with the others in one of these cages today."

* * *

"I wonder what's taking them so long," Bianca asked, "I hope no one got hurt. I saw a couple of ambulances pull away earlier."

Bianca and I were sitting on a bench by the warehouses with a couple of officers who were busy making reports and turning spectators away from the area. I was about to say something when I saw the groups start to return. I jumped and ran over the moment I saw N come out with them.

"Are you alright," I hurriedly ask N. I make an effort not to hold his hand because there were so many members of Team Plasma around us and I didn't want them ratting us out to Ghetsis.

N didn't smile as he looked up, "there are some horrible people in this world."

'Poor N, I can't imagine what he feels when he sees all those poor Pokemon in those cages. It makes my stomach churn as well.'

That's when I noticed that Black had approached me. He looked pale and terrified.

"Black! Are you alright!? What happened?" I say while grabbing his arms and looking up at him.

"I'm so sorry Ivory," Black says quietly, "I had no idea how horrible being a Whisperer could be."

"…was…was Team Rocket trafficking Whisperers?" I asked quietly.

Black looked up at me in surprise, "how did you know?"

"Black, ever since I was registered as a Whisperer, I was told that there were bad people out there who want to use my powers. I have an emergency setting on my phone to alert the police on my location immediately if I'm ever attacked. Professor Juniper gave me an entire safety briefing before I left for my first internship. I got an even more intense one when I left on this journey."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I think this was Professor Juniper's way of telling you, and I never told you or Cheren or Bianca because I didn't want you to worry about me like everyone else does. I just wanted you to think of me as a person and not some fragile object that people want to steal."

"… I'm so sorry for being a horrible big brother. I shouldn't have said the things that I did back there. You didn't deserve any of it."

"No Black. I should apologize. I didn't even think about your feelings when I came out here. I was only thinking about myself and what I wanted."

Black smiles at me and says. "friends again?"

I grin and give him a big bewear hug and say "of course!"

"Hey, you guys made up, yay!" Bianca says as she walks over to us.

N just smiles and says, "I told you it wouldn't be bad."

We've started walking away, when Black turns to N and says, "hey, I know I've battled you and run into you a couple of times, but who are you really and how do you know Ivory?"

'Oh, great,' I think to myself. "It's a long story."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

"So you're saying N is one of your three not so imaginary friends in the woods that you used to hang out with and now you're traveling together through Unova with Bianca. And! This is the part I have a problem with, N is not only a Whisperer, he can talk to Pokemon!"

"That's pretty much it," I say tiredly. We were sitting in a café in Driftveil and had been talking about the adventures we had had so far. Black was really angry when he had heard about Bianca's Pokemon getting stolen and was shocked by our Dreamyard experience, but he just couldn't get over N.

"Why are you even in the League! You know you were the person I had promised myself to defeat because you were the first person to beat our winning streak! Now, I find out that I'll never be able to beat you! That's totally not fair!"

"Sorry about that," N says apologetically, "I'm in the League at the moment so that I can make… a political statement."

"Huh… so when you took that pokeball from Zinzolin, you were going to talk to it?"

"Yes. The Pokemon was from a Rocket member that had been captured earlier, I just asked him where some of the warehouses were that we didn't already know about."

"That's really convenient. I wish I could figure out what some of my Pokemon were thinking. I have an Altaria, Juliet, that I just can't figure out."

"Hey Black, if you want you can come with us!" Bianca said enthusiastically!

"You know what they say, the more the merrier," I say.

"Plus, you can still train your Pokemon! When I was training, I just left N and Ivory to keep traveling while I went and battled. It's nice because when I come back, they've usually set up camp and have made dinner!"

"Oh really? So that's why you took so long to come back when we were travelling. I see how it is." I say teasingly.

"…You know. I really wouldn't mind. I've been travelling alone for so long now that I can't imagine what a journey is like with other people there."

"I would invite Cheren, but I think he's training now. He has started texting back, so there's been some improvement," Bianca said with a sigh.

"My internship here is kind of long though. I'll be working with Deerling in a laboratory. Something about studying the effects of weather on Pokemon."

"Alright, so we split for the time being and then we'll meet back together in front of the lab and head off to Mistralton!"

* * *

The next few days passed quickly, and N found that he surprisingly liked Ivory's brother. He had spent time with his Pokemon and found that they, like many other Pokemon, loved their trainer. What surprised N was how devoted Black was to them. He noticed that Black never failed to put their needs before his and would be sure all his Pokemon were in the best of shape. He also understood that it was his Pokemon who won and not him. Black had also wanted to know everything about his Pokemon and would ask N a lot of questions about them.

'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to travel with another trainer,' N thought to himself. N had had his reservations at first. He was uncomfortable that another person outside of Team Plasma knew his secret as a Whisperer and as someone who could speak to Pokemon, but Black hadn't made a big deal out of it and had promised he wouldn't tell anyone.

N still wasn't sure what Black would think if he found out that he had kissed his sister and was secretly dating her. Every night, after attending Team Plasma meetings or helping recruit new members, N would have Trixie transform into him and pretend to read a book in a library while N would sneak off to spend time with Ivory. Trixie was more than happy to oblige and would always tease him when he came back because he was usually in disguise.

N was, of course, devoted to Team Plasma and its cause, but he couldn't understand why his father insisted he spend as little time with Ivory as possible. He agreed that Ivory shouldn't take place of his duties as a King (as his feelings for her had when they were in Nimbasa City), but he didn't think there was any reason for him not to love her or spend time with her. They often walked together through the forest, hand in hand, while she told him about her day, or they just talked about life in general. They had kissed several times since then and each time it seemed to get better and better.

One day as N waited for one of the Sages, Rood, to come and begin his lesson on literature, N found himself humming and swinging Trixie around as she laughed and giggled. _"I've never seen you so happy N,"_ Trixie said, _"you're a lot more fun now that you actually help me in my pranks."_ Bianca and Trixie had declared prank war on each other, but Trixie's pranks always won and N, unfortunately, managed to get the full blast of Bianca's pranks while Trixie came out perfectly fine. N had gotten more water dumped on his head and received more prank calls than he ever thought possible. Luckily Trixie was always able to retaliate with an even more devious prank seeing as she could disguise herself as any person or Pokemon she wanted. Trixie once even disguised herself as Darkrai and had scared Bianca to pieces when she woke up and saw her.

"May I remind you," N said serenely, "that the way I'm helping you is by being the brunt of Bianca's prank while you get away with it."

_"Exactly! That's totally helping. It just sucks for you."_

N just laughed and continued dancing with Trixie in his arms. He even started singing as he twirled in circles. 'One day I hope to dance with Ivory like this. Maybe I'll sing to her just as my mother used to do for me.'

Just then, the door swung open and Zinzolin walked in, "Natural Harmonia just what do you think you're doing!"

N stopped spinning and looked around at the room. He had left the window open and several Pidoves and even a Tranquill had swooped in. There were also several Pokemon peering excitedly into the room from the window.

"I-"

"We warned you about singing, and we aren't even that far from the gym! Imagine if the Gym Leader saw this. Our spies tell us that the Gym Leaders already know that you're a Whisperer. What do you think would happen if they saw this?" Zinzolin growled at him.

"Enough," Rood said as he stepped out from behind Zinzolin, "N didn't mean any harm, and no one saw anything."

"Perhaps, but you should have known better," Zinzolin said looking pointedly at N. "I haven't cared much for your behavior these last few days. Were you even paying attention during our meetings?"

"Of course!" N insisted, "I've always payed attention to each meeting and I work hard on writing and delivering every speech I give to Team Plasma!"

"Oh really? Can you tell me who the biggest threat to Team Plasma's goals is?"

"The Champion and the Elite Four, obviously."

"Hmm… that is so interesting that you should say that when just yesterday we concluded that Drayden was actually the most dangerous because he had once been a Pokemon Master before deciding to retire in Opelucid city with his family. I'm sure you didn't forget the fact that he specializes in dragons and has trained his Pokemon with other Whisperers so that they would continue following his commands and resist a Whisperer's influence."

N blushed and said, "I'm sure I would have remembered that when I got to Opelucid City."

"You're not going to Opelucid City. The League is too close to finding out who you are. Instead, you will now only get the badge here in Driftveil and the one in Milstaton. Afterwards, you will go to Iccirus Town where you will summon Zekrom in Dragonspiral Tower. That's when Plasma's glorious conquest will truly begin. We'll have the Shadow Triad steal the remaining two.

N blinked in surprise. It was all happening so quickly now. When he first left on his journey, he had been impatient for the moment he could summon Zekrom and overthrow the League, but now… Now he wasn't sure if he wanted that. Spending time with Bianca, Black, and especially Ivory had made him wonder why it was so important for Team Plasma to take over Unova. He loved and supported Team Plasma with all his heart, but why did they have to be so aggressive in their methods of take over. He wanted the League gone, but was this the only way of achieving their goals?

"I've been thinking," N said quietly, "the League is horrible, and I hope we can demolish it, but do we have to summon Zekrom and make everyone submit to our will? Wouldn't it be better to try and peacefully work together to create a better society? Team Plasma has already changed things for the better. Why do we have to be the ones in charge to make the world we want?"

"N," Rood said calmly, "we've already discussed this. In order for society to change, there must be a strong spark to start it. Usually a nation changes due to violence. It's unfortunate, but people are content in the world we live in now and will refuse to change unless they are properly motivated to do it. Pokemon will always be oppressed until a strong force, in this case Zekrom and Team Plasma, come and forcibly change things."

N sighed, "you're right Sage Rood. It's just unfortunate that we are forced to resort to these methods."

"Yes, well come along now N. You still have a lesson."

N walked past Zinzolin and joined Rood as they went out into the corridor. Zinzolin stood for a moment before saying, "What in Arceus' name have you three been allowing that boy to do?"

The Shadow Triad appeared suddenly, and Osamu said, "Apologies Sage Zinzolin. We have watched him these last few days and other than his Plasma obligations he has been spending time with his friends, including a new one named Black. It appears this Black is Ivory Greystorm's sibling."

"Has he talked to that Ivory girl more?"

"Not from what we've seen. He spends most nights in the library."

"What does he read?"

"He's currently reading a dictionary."

"… a dictionary? Tell me does he ever turn a page when he's reading said dictionary?"

"…no."

"how long does he read?"

"for several hours."

"…you idiots! That wasn't him! That was his stupid Zorua, Trixie. To believe Ghetsis trusts such incompetent fools like you. Contact Ghetsis at once. He needs to be informed about his son's behavior."

"Yes, sir. At once." And then the three of them teleported away.

* * *

"I can tell you that he's a strong Whisperer. I used all of my own Pokemon against him and told him that I was using a lot of lower level Pokemon to prepare trainers for the World Tournament we hope to start here. He took them all down with one Pokemon. It didn't look like it was a challenge for him at all."

"Not even a challenge you sa?. Most Whisperers do end up struggling a little to stop Pokemon from trainers that have a strong connection to their trainers. The longer a Pokemon has been with a trainer and the more battles they have fought together, the harder it becomes for a Whisperer to break that connection."

"I grew up raising my Krookodile. He didn't even flinch or hesitate to botch one of his moves that I ordered him to do. The kid's young, I've never seen any Whisperer so inexperienced be able to do something like that. When I trained against Whisperer Zachery and his Dragonair Liliana, my Krookodile showed more willingness to follow my orders than he did against this kid."

"An overly powerful Whisperer… have the detectives made any leads on who he works for?"

"The guys say he spends time with a couple of trainers and reads a lot of books. He does occasionally go to this house for Pokemon fans, but a lot of people do. There are a lot of trainers and Pokemon breeders who go there. The only notable figures that have been going there are Rood and Zinzolin of Team Plasma. They don't even have any Pokemon because they released them as a show of their love and care about the freedom of Pokemon everywhere or some garbage like that."

"Another very obvious connection to Team Plasma. I'm not quite sure what they're up to or why they're doing this, but they're involved."

"I don't like this," Alder growled. "After talking to the Elite Four and all the other Gym Leaders, we've decided to just stop him now and not wait to see if he leads us to his boss. The leaders of Team Plasma and I are going to have a very interesting chat about this."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"Ouch," I say as I'm zapped again by the floating stones around Chargestone Cave. "Why do these things have to conduct so much electricity!"

Nightstar looks like he's gone straight to heaven. He keeps jumping and climbing all over the crystals. 'Well he is an electric type.'

"Ivory, Bianca, Black" I hear someone yell from behind me. I look up and see Professor Juniper walk over in our direction, "Ah and you must be N," Professor Juniper says smiling at N.

"Professor Juniper! What are you doing in this cave?" Bianca asks

"Conducting research obviously. I'm looking into the origins of a Pokemon called Klingklang. Ever heard of it?"

"Uh… no."

"That's alright, it's not a well-known or loved Pokemon."

N gave a "hmph" and looks away. I glance over at him in confusion. 'Was he upset that not everyone loved a certain Pokemon or what?' Then N says, "Professor Juniper, with all due respect, have you ever considered the ethical implications of what you're doing?"

Professor Juniper arches her eyebrow and says, "no not really, but clearly you have."

"Think about what you were doing if it were in terms of humans. How many experiments do you conduct on Pokemon that you would normally have to get consent to do if it were with humans? Even surveying Pokemon for the sake of research is like prying into the homes of the people around you and watching them."

"Hmm… well how will I get a Pokemon's consent if neither can understand the other? I agree that we shouldn't hurt Pokemon for the sake of experimentation, but none of the Pokemon we have receive any harm. Hopefully science will advance to where people and Pokemon can speak freely amongst each other, but until then we have to start from somewhere. Besides, who says Pokemon don't also benefit from our research?"

N looks like he's about to argue some more when I interject by saying, "Anyway, it's great to see you Professor! Do you need help with your research?"

"No, that'll be alright. I just saw you and came over to say hello. Oh, and I also wanted to give you these" she said as she gave us a couple of transceivers. "Chargerstone Cave can twist and turn a lot making it easy to get lost. If you ever need help, call on this and a Ranger should come and find you."

"Thanks," all of us say. 'Not that we really need them,' I think, 'if we ever do get lost N will just ask one of the Pokemon to help us find our way out.'

"Well good luck on your journeys! Be safe and meet lots of Pokemon," she says with a smile.

We turn and are about to walk away when N says, "Ouch!" and rubs his head.

I look over at him, "told you that electricity isn't as nice as a bunch of random formulas and equations."

* * *

Professor Juniper smiles as she watches the teens disappear around a corner. She then looks down at her hand where she holds a wisp of green hair between her fingers. She pulls out her phone and makes a call.

"I've got it. I'm sending it to the lab at once."

* * *

Chargestone Cave was truly breathtaking. The shimmering blue light that came from the crystals cast such an interesting and eerie light that it was hard not to stare and be mesmerized by it. N had started talking about formulas and real nerdy things like about how electricity was conducted and how it was used in society. It was a whole other side of him that I had no idea existed. He didn't even mention the ethics of whether it was okay to have electric type Pokemon act as backup generators.

"Wow, you kind of sound like Bianca," Black says with a smirk.

N turns to Bianca excitedly and says, "I had no idea you were into science as well!"

Bianca shrugs and says, "mainly biology. It's one of the reasons my dad didn't want me to go on a journey. He wanted me to become a Professor just like him and my mom are and not waste any time by traveling around. I've always loved science and I really like biology, especially Pokemon biology. My plan is to become a Pokemon Professor just like Professor Juniper."

N looks a little annoyed at that, but he didn't say anything.

"And what about you, N" I ask him. "I had no idea you were such a nerd!"

"I don't really get the chance to think about it that much because I'm always so busy with… everything, but when I do get a chance, I love to learn about it. I especially enjoy math. It's kind of a hobby of mine to solve equations."

"Nerd," Black says with a snicker.

"Um… where is this Boldore taking us by the way?"

"Oh, he told me that he knows a really cool place and that we should come and see it."

Black shook his head, "I'm still getting over the fact that you can talk to Pokemon. It's weird enough to see you and Trixie have full fledged conversations, but then you go and talk to random Pokemon and this happens."

Suddenly the cave opened up and the crystals were all a soft pink rather than a blue.

"Wow!" Bianca gasps, "I wonder how many people know about this?"

The Boldore scuttles up and clangs on a crystal, a pure sound echoes throughout the chamber. I laugh and say, "wow, this place has great acoustics."

We all walk up to the various crystals and start tapping them. Each crystal made a different sound. Soon the whole cavern was filled with sound. Surprisingly, it all melded together in beautiful harmony.

"This place is incredible, thank you Greegree," N says addressing the Boldore.

The rest of our time in Chargestone Cavern was like that. We somehow found the odd nooks and crannies that were filled with unusual and interesting things. We were all laughing by the end. I wish it could have ended that way, but of course it didn't.

While we were walking along through the cave, some boulders came loose above us and crashed down towards us. Bianca screamed at the sight of the oncoming boulders and I instinctively tried to run as fast as I could away from them. N and Black, who had been trailing behind us and weren't in line of the boulders, stopped and yelled our names. Luckily, Bianca and I cleared the onslaught of boulders, but they effectively blocked the path, separating Bianca and me from N and Black.

"Ivory, Bianca!" I hear Black yell.

"Yeah! We're okay! I don't know how we're going to get to you though!" I shout back.

"You'll just have to keep going to Mistralton and we'll find a way to join you," N says.

"Okay!" Bianca yells, "thank Arceus that didn't crush us! They looked like they were coming right for us!"

"I know right!" I say as we turn and continue walking down the path, "when we get into town, let's tell the Rangers about this. Maybe they can put up some warning signs or something."

Suddenly three creepy guys appeared in front of us. Bianca screamed at the sight of them and Nightstar jumped in front of us, sparks flying.

"You weirdos!" I shout angrily, "What in Giratina's name is wrong with you three!"

That's when I notice that all three of them are holding daggers and I feel my body go cold.

"Are-are you trying to kill us," my voice cracks at the end. Nightstar reacted immediately and sent out a huge thundershock on the three. They disappeared and reappeared next to Bianca before grabbing her and teleporting away. "Bianca!" I scream. The Triad appeared again, but this time they stood in front of me with Bianca in front of them. The one standing in the middle had a dagger to her throat.

"Nightstar use-"

"How fast do you your Shinx can hit us before we slit the girls throat."

At this point I'm shaking and terrified, but I try to sound brave when I yell "What do you want from us? We're just two kids from Nuvema town!"

"We want you to stop seeing N," one of the Triad hisses.

"You're seriously about to kill another human being because the person that you're protecting is dating them!? What's wrong with you?!"

"Yes," one of the Triad says flatly, "we would prefer to kill you, but our Master seems to think it's better to have you end the relationship with him."

"Your master… you mean Ghetsis told you to do this! All of you are messed up!"

"Well the decision is yours," the Triad says quietly, "the life of your lifelong friend or your relationship with a boy you just barely reconnected with."

"Ivory, what's happening!" Bianca cries out desperately, but a Triad just squeezed her tighter and pressed his dagger more against her throat and told her to shut up.

"Fine. I'll do it you twisted monsters!"

"Good. We'll be watching to make sure you do it. Once it's finished, we'll return the girl. Oh, and if either of you mention Master Ghetsis or this meeting to N, we'll kill you and your families."

To my horror he lists off both our addresses and even throws in Cheren's. With that the three of them disappear and take Bianca along with them.

* * *

It's dark in Mistralton when Black and N both emerge from the cave. "I hope those two got out safely," Black says as he brings out his phone to call them.

"Hmm… it seems like Bianca's phone is switched off. I'll try Ivory… Hey Ivory, where are you guys?... at the Rangers station where you're interning? Okay we'll be there in a few minutes."

N and Black walk together in silence towards the Ranger's Station. When they come in, they see Ivory huddled on a couch with a Ranger rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey Ivory, what's wrong? Where's Bianca?"

"Um… she went to the Pokemon Center already…"

The Ranger looks up and smiles sadly, "a cave in like that can be pretty terrifying. I'm surprised she came out relatively unscathed, but still it takes a mental toll"

"Well I'm glad you're both alright," N says and reaches to hold Ivory's hand, but she folds her arms and looks away from him. N felt slightly hurt by it, but he figured that the cave in had really upset her and she didn't want to talk to him at the moment.

"Hey Ivory," Black says, "it's going to be alright! I mean come on, you've faced thieves and sketchy thugs before! You can handle a couple of rocks!"

Ivory smiles weakly and says, "thanks Black."

Black glances over at N and says, "If you're okay, I guess we should be going over to the Pokemon Center to check on Bianca."

N looks over at Ivory again, but she refuses to make eye contact with him. 'Have I done something wrong,' N wonders 'I'll have to find some way to make it up to her.' He follows Black outside where Black turns to him and says "Look I know you two are a couple and I'm not mad about that because you seem like an okay guy. Maybe you're a bit too much of a hippie and Plasma lover, but I can get past that. Somethings clearly bothering Ivory and I think it's more than the cave in. I think you should go talk to her and ask her what's wrong. She has to say whatever it is at some point. I'll go to the Pokemon Center and meet Bianca, but you should stay and talk to Ivory."

With that Black walks off in the direction of the Pokemon Center leaving N by the Ranger's Station. N glances back at the Station and through the window. He sees that Ivory wasn't there anymore. At that point Trixie says, "_No worries N, I was watching while you two were talking and she went to her room on the left side of the building."_

N smiles at Trixie "Thanks."

_"Get some flowers,"_ Trixie added, _"girls like flowers and Ivory seemed kind of upset."_

N quickly ran to the side of the building and gathered some wildflowers to give her. "Why do girls like flowers?" N asks Trixie, "they just die if you pick them."

_"I don't know. Ask her that."_

N sees that the light was on in one of the windows and he crept over to see if it was Ivory's room.

_"Hey perv,"_ Trixie yelled while jumping up on N's head, _"you don't just check a girl's room through her window. What if she's changing!"_

"You're right," N says with a blush proceeded by an even deeper blush when he realized he kind of liked the idea of seeing Ivory change. He shook his head and told Trixie, "you check first to see if it's appropriate."

Trixie looks into the window and smiles at N _"wow it's a good thing you didn't look, she has nothing on! She has a birthmark in a very interesting place… wanna know where it is?"_

"Trixie!" N says, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment. "Stop looking!"

_"I'm just joking. She's still in her normal clothes and looks all mopey."_

N sighs in relief, "okay, well at least she isn't naked." He then taps the window to get her attention. He sees her come over to the window and slowly open the window. He smiles up at her as he stands from his kneeling position and presents her with a bouquet of flowers.

Instead of smiling and looking pleased, Ivory broke down in sobs. "Ivory what's wrong?" he asked as he tries to hug her through the window, but she shoves him away.

"Go away N!"

N couldn't understand what was wrong. Everything had been perfectly fine the day before and even just this morning, before they left their campsite and the others were busy packing their gear, Ivory had come up to him and kissed him. 'What happened?' N glances down at Trixie, but she appears to be equally confused.

"Ivory," N says quietly, "I don't understand what's wrong? Did something happen while we were apart?"

"Yes, something did N," Ivory says shakily. She looks up at him and N felt his heart break as he sees how much pain she is in, "I realized that you and I were never meant to be together. You-you're a nice guy, but I realize that I just don't want to be with you anymore. I-I don't love you… I never," her voice cracks at this point and she begins sobbing even more, "I-I never did! I was just so caught up in your mystery and the fact that we knew each other before, but I realize that I've never known who you really are. How could I love a guy who disappears half the time and won't tell me where he's been?"

"Please Ivory!" N cries desperately, "I'll tell you anything! I'll-I'll tell you everything about Team Plasma, ask me anything and I'll tell you!"

N sees Ivory's body stiffen and her eyes widen in fear for a minute before saying. "No. We're through. Leave me alone! You're bad news and you'll just end up hurting me and my friends. I hope that I never see you again." With that she slammed the window on his face and ran out of the room.

N felt as if his heart had just been crushed. For the first time in a very long time, N felt tears form and begin to fall. He looks to the ground and tried to wipe his eyes, but they kept coming. 'How could this have happened? I thought we were in love. I thought we would one day be married. Ivory… my Ivory. What have I done wrong?' he thought to himself as he slowly walked away.

**A/N: Thanks so much for reviewing! I hope you really enjoy the story even though there are some inconsistencies and several things don't make sense.**

**SnowCatt: Thanks for your feedback! I'm so glad that you noticed that Whisperer's should train their bonded Pokemon! It's ridiculous that the Whisperers aren't more powerful and prominent in society. If you've noticed, none of them hold any real positions of authority.**

** Here's why Whisperers don't train their Pokemon: When I started thinking about this fanfic, I thought about how Team Plasma had really good points if we thought about Pokemon like people and creatures that can think independently. N said something important in this chapter: "think about what you're doing in terms of people." In my fanfic, Whisperers are the human equivalent of Pokemon.**

** At the start of the fanfic, Ivory calls herself an expensive commodity and mentions that she always has to have security. Also, she has internships every summer, which she doesn't get paid for might I add, so that she can be used for her powers. Ivory could also never be a normal politician, a banker, a doctor, or a scientist because she wouldn't be spending her time helping society by using her rare powers. She also has to check in with her employers to see that she's safe and she wears a pin to identify her as a Whisperer.**

** The point I'm trying to make is that all Whisperers are being trafficked and used for their powers. Human trafficking isn't just kidnapping and selling people, it's when others exploit a person and take their freedom so they can provide a service. Ivory is being exploited by the League, but she doesn't know it because it happens all the time. The most obvious example is N, who is literally being watched constantly by the Shadow Triad and Ghetsis is the one controlling him. He also has no strategy while fighting the League because Ghetsis never taught him any because that would make him a lot more dangerous and difficult to control… you'll find out later why.**

** If Whisperers were to train their Pokemon and start challenging the League, they would be able to take over. In my fanfic, the first rulers of the Regions were Whisperers. The League discourages Whisperers training outside of the Whisperers who work for them because it makes it easier to control them. Team Rocket trafficking Whisperers is the same as them trafficking Pokemon. Both are powerful, and everyone wants to control them.**

** I never actually bring this up in my fanfic… because it's a little dark and this society doesn't even think what they're doing is wrong. I mean Whisperers are happy just like Pokemon are, right?**

** Anyway, that was a super long Author's Note. This is meant to be an adventure story with some romance and some darker themes if you read into it a little more. This is only a fanfiction, but I'll admit I started writing it because I got annoyed by not seeing enough debate on whether Team Plasma is right or not and honestly because I wanted Ghetsis and N to be way more intelligent. I'm tired of reading about creepy, weird, socially awkward N and I wanted to read one that thought a little more critically while at the same time being totally exploited like the Pokemon he's trying to protect. Also, I love ferriswheelshipping and fluff! **

**Pan Hatta: I'm trying to fix my grammar, but thanks for liking my fanfic so far!**

**I love your reviews! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Poor N and Ivory were forced to split up… :(**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

**(3****rd**** POV: Black)**

"There you are Bianca! I thought you would have already checked in and settled into your room by now," Black called out to Bianca.

Bianca jumped and turned to Black before saying "y-yeah. I-I h-had to-to visit someone." Black stared at Bianca for a moment. She looked absolutely petrified with fear and she was visibly shaking.

"Bianca what's wrong? Ivory looked just as upset as you do now. What happened?"

"Nothing… I just was nearly killed by a bunch of rocks. That's all." Bianca looked pale and terrified, but she still tried to smile cheerily and make it a joke.

"Bianca, I'm not buying it. What's really going on?"

"Please don't ask me that," Bianca said shrilly, "it's for your own good that you don't know."

(**3rd POV: Professor Juniper)**

"I've never seen DNA quite like this before," Professor Juniper said quietly.

"What? As in it's not human?"

"No, it's human alright, but there are certain genetic markers that have been activated in his that normally remain dormant in other humans. You know how there are a lot of things that our DNA codes for that goes unused, humans used to call it junk DNA. Well his DNA has several of these genes activated. Most Whisperers do as well, we've isolated that it's a strand of DNA that acts with the neurons of the brain. It's still quite a mystery, but we know more about it than we ever did before."

"What does it mean Professor?"

"It means that he's more than just a Whisperer. I don't think we have any idea what he's truly capable of doing."

"…do you know who his parents are?"

"hmm you're going to love this. His parents are Ghetsis and Melody Harmonia, founders of Team Plasma."

"What? I knew Ghetsis had a son, but all the reports confirm that he died when he was about four along with Ghetsis' wife."

"This is where things get pretty messed up," Professor Juniper said quietly, "I looked into it and found that Melody's records had been sealed and her autopsy had been nearly impossible to find. Her cause of death was a slash across her chest caused by a Pokemon. The autopsy confirmed the Pokemon to be an Espion. It took place in Discordian Wood, so it makes sense that she was attacked, but not by an Eveelution. The problem with this entire thing was her DNA. It looks very similar to her son's. She was a Whisperer."

"Pokemon don't kill Whisperers."

"I know. Unless they order them to attack. The report was completely wrong. It wasn't an attack by a wild Pokemon, it was a suicide at the hands of a Pokemon that was most likely bonded to her."

"…What?! What happened to their son?"

"Ah yes, Natural, or N as we call him now. He was reported to have disappeared along with two other girls. The girls were apparently Melody's personal maid's children. There's almost no record of them from before or after the incident. Oh, and the personal maid, Rhea, also died that day along with Melody, but there is no cause of death."

"I can't believe this. We need to investigate Ghetsis right away and take N into custody."

"You can even have N officially taken away by the Region. I found out that he's only fifteen years old."

"This just gets more and more messed up."

**(3****rd**** POV: N)**

N stood in Celestial Tower and silently gazed down at his mother's grave. He could only remember bits and pieces of her. Her gentle blue eyes, luscious blond hair, and the way she would hold him and tell him she loved him. His mother had been wonderful. His father still kept her picture on his desk even though he didn't talk about her that often.

N knelt by her tombstone and allowed a memory to wash over him from when he was so much younger.

_Anthea and N had been playing with the Pokemon all day and the sun was just starting to set. "Catch me if you can," Trixie yelled, and both Anthea and N started to run after them. N had just barely turned four and Anthea was only nine at the time, but it didn't stop N from being frustrated that Anthea and Trixie easily outran him._

_ "Hey wait for me," N called. Suddenly a wild Blitzle ran up next to him and said_

_ "Hop on! I'm way faster than them both." N eagerly clambered up on the Blitzle and raced after the two. N reached down and scooped Trixie's furry little body._

_ "I caught you!" N said happily._

_ "N, Anthea, Trixie," his mother called out to them from the lawn outside the mansion. "It's time to come in!"_

_ "Yes mommy!" N shouted and they ran over to her. N hopped off the Blitzle and ran straight into his mother's arms where she spun him around. N screamed in delight._

_ "Me too Lady Melody! Me too," Trixie eagerly asked._

_ Melody laughed and scooped Trixie up and did the same thing. N then excitedly told her all that he and his friends had done that day and the many marvelous made up quests they had gone on. "…finally, we defeated the evil sorcerer and Trixie used tail whip or something to send him to the moon!"_

_ His mother stroked his hair and gently said, "I'm glad that the evil sorcerer didn't hurt you and you came back to me safe and sound."_

_ The door opened and out came his father, Ghetsis._

_ "Father," N shouted happily as he ran over to hug him. Ghetsis reached down and picked him up._

_ "How have you been today?"_

_ "Very good! I only made Concordia yell at me once for running in the house with muddy shoes!"_

_ "Well… at least it was only once. Remember that we give those rules for a reason. Imagine how much work our servants had to do to scrub the mud off the floor."_

_ "Yes father. I'll try better next time!"_

_ "Good," Ghetsis said as he placed N back on the ground and walked over to his wife. "How are you, my love."_

_ "Better now that you're here. You've been away at Relic Castle searching for the Dark Stone for so long that I sometimes wonder if you remember that we're still here."_

_ "I'd never forget you or let any of you go," Ghetsis says as he kisses her cheek._

_ "Mommy sing for us, please! Sing for us!"_

_ Melody laughs and says, "I will, but it's bedtime for you afterwards. Understood?"_

_ "Yes, mommy!"_

_ Melody then steps out into the open lawn with her bare feet and begins to sing. Her voice was clear and beautiful, soaring up to the sky, hitting each note in perfect pitch. She sings with such emotion and feeling that N feels himself start to cry. The Pokemon from the forest begin to come onto the lawn and gather around Melody. Voltorb and Volbeat begin to fly and circle around her in perfect harmony and begin to form images of the song she's singing. It's the old song of the two kings of Unova and the wars against each other. The Voltorb form the image of the goddess Reshiram on one side and the Volbeat formed Zekrom on the other side. It ended with the two crashing into each other and the Pokemon then falling dramatically to the ground._

_ "One day, my son," Ghetsis said to N who he had been holding silently while watching Melody sing, "One day Reshiram and Zekrom will be reunited as one and then the Harmonia family shall rule."_

"N," Ghetsis said as he softly put a hand on N's shoulder.

N snapped out of his reverie and scrambled to his feet before saying, "Father. I had no idea you were there."

Ghetsis looked sadly behind N at the tombstone. "Your mother was a marvelous woman. She was the first and only woman that I've ever loved. It's a shame you never got to truly know her."

"I know. It's horrible that we were forced to run from our home… and that they killed her. Why would they do such a horrible thing?"

"I wish I knew. It's only you and me now, but she would have been proud of you if she could see you today. This wasn't just my or Team Plasma's dream, it was your mother's as well. She was originally meant to summon Zekrom and bring about the new order, and she was eager to do so. Now that she's gone, it falls on you to take up her mantle and summon him. Please do not fail her legacy, or her death would have been in vain."

"Of course, father," N looked back at the grave and felt the first stirrings of shame build with him. 'How could he have been willing to sacrifice his family's dream, his destiny, for friends he barely knew and a girl… a girl that didn't even love him?' N turned to his father and said, "I won't fail you. I will summon Zekrom."

"Good. Remember that you and I, and all of Team Plasma have a special connection to each other. We're family and families must be willing to make sacrifices to protect each other."

"Just as a King is willing to make sacrifices for his subjects," N recited dutifully.

"Exactly, and with Zekrom's help, those sacrifices won't be in vain."

N nods and stands a little straighter, and starts to walk out of Celestia Tower when he pauses by Ghetsis and says, "I love you father"

Ghetsis looks over at N, and says "I love you too, son."

N walked down the staircase and out of sight as Ghetsis remains and stares at the tombstone for his deceased wife. He walks over and picks up the small daisy N had placed on the tombstone and promptly crushes it.

**(1****st**** POV: Ivory)**

I feel completely numb. It's painful to do anything, to walk, to eat, to sleep, even to breathe. I just go through the motions while I stay at the Rangers and go on patrols through the forest, but I still feel empty inside. Every night I curl up in my bed and cry myself to sleep. I miss him so much that I feel like another part of me has been stolen.

It wasn't just the fact that we had broken up, it was because N had done nothing wrong and I had rejected him. I had told him I didn't love him when in my mind I was screaming about how much I did love him. 'Maybe I'll die of a broken hear,' I think glumly, 'that'll make Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad happy.'

Bianca completely sympathizes with me because she knows what I had to do to protect her. She's the only one that I can really talk to about everything that happened or the Shadow Triad or anything, but she doesn't have any solutions. I had thought about going to the police and having them arrest Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad, but I know that me, Bianca, and our families will probably be dead before the police can catch them. Black's been no help in all of this. He's been training more than ever to be strong enough to take down whoever hurt us even though we won't tell him who they were. The worst has been Black's opinion on what had happened between me and N.

"You two broke up!? Why? That guy's crazy about you and by the way you're moping around it's obvious that you are too! Why don't you get back together?"

"He's safer without me around," I insist.

"Safer? What are you talking about?"

Finally, after days of endless pestering and questions, Bianca and I agree to tell him the truth. When we finish, he just stares at us. "Is this some kind of joke or way out of telling me what really happened?" We both solemnly shake our heads and Black lets out a little chuckle, "so, the head of Team Plasma wants his son to not be dating you. What does he do? Oh you know, just sends three ninjas to murder and threaten you and Bianca. It just seems so unreal. I mean who does that?"

"I know right!?" Bianca gushes, "it's so nice to finally tell you, but you can't go to the police remember. They know where all our families live. We can't tell N either, even though he's the one who really needs to know, because the ninjas will do the exact same thing."

"I just don't understand why?" Black said after a moment, "I mean you'd think this Ghetsis guy would be happy that his son's going for a Whisperer that is kind of pro Team Plasma."

"Maybe it's secretly because of you Black and all your anti-Plasma ways," I say dryly, "but honestly, he threatened me before I even fully understood that I had feelings for N."

"Does he want N to be single for the rest of his life or what?"

"Guys," Bianca said quietly, "I think that we need to stop thinking about the relationship status and start thinking about how N's changed in the time that we've known him. When I first met him, all he could talk about was that Plasma crap and how great it was, but by the end he only talked about it in passing and didn't seem to care as much. N became a lot more relaxed and open. That's not what Ghetsis wants."

"Okay… but N was still pretty into Pokemon rights when I met him," Black said slowly, "if he's grooming him to be, I don't know, the future leader of Team Plasma, he isn't doing a bad job. N totally believes their stuff."

"There's something more that we don't understand," I say quietly, "N also went to a bunch of things that he didn't tell us about. Once he told me that there was a lot about him that I didn't know, and just before we broke up he promised he would tell me anything I wanted to hear about Team Plasma and himself," I felt myself physically shudder at this point, "that was when I saw one of the Shadow Triad. He was standing a little way behind N and just staring at me. I didn't dare ask anything when I saw that creeper."

"They were watching your breakup? That's weird." Black said flatly.

"Did you not hear anything else that I just said," I say angrily, "there's a lot more going on with Team Plasma than Pokemon rescue missions. I think there's a lot more to N than just him being Ghetsis' son, and no I don't mean that in the gushy way that girlfriends talk about their boyfriends."

"I agree," Bianca said quietly, "everything that's happened on our journey has been odd and kind of revolved around N. I mean those gingers we ran into at the Dreamyard were weird, all the phone calls and N's sudden disappearances, and-"

"Wait a minute," Black interrupted, "gingers? Was one a guy and the other a girl. Both mean looking and short tempered."

"…yes."

"I think I saw those guys in Nacrene City… they were with N. Now that I think about it, it was right before a group of thugs came in and stole a skull. The weird thing was that the people who actually stole it were just a group of teenage hooligans who weren't even calling the shots. It was almost like they were a distraction."

"What!?" Bianca and I say together.

"Fennel did say that there was probably a Whisperer involved at the Dreamyard," Bianca said quietly.

"That couldn't be N," I said, "that's totally against the law and he would've done something when he saw you and me."

"Well there are other Whisperers that work for Team Plasma, and we have no idea why they were really taking that Dream Mist. We both had assumed it was for drugs, but maybe it was for something else. They also didn't seem like druggies or dealers."

We all stared at each other for a moment before Black said, "this is way bigger than any of us. I know that it puts our families in danger, but we have to tell the League."

Bianca looks like she's about to cry, "but they might kill us."

"I know, but I have a feeling that they might kill us anyway even if we don't say anything."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

N walked quietly into the Gym and was surprised to find that the League members that usually challenged him before he faced the Gym Leader, stood aside and let him pass without so much as saying a word. 'That's weird, but then again at the last Gym Battle, Clay fought me with six Pokemon of various types when he's normally a ground type. Maybe they are trying something new.'

When he finally reached the battlefield where he was supposed to battle Skyla, he found that there were several League members there, including Gym Leaders Drayden and Clay along with the League Whisperer Zachery. The only one that made sense for being there was Skyla.

He approached cautiously and glanced suspiciously at the League members, but before he could get any further Drayden said, "Natural Harmonia you are under arrest,"

Before N even had time to react, Skyla shouted "use string shot," as a small little Petilil jumped out and shot out some small sticky string. Instead of going around N's torso, it went straight for his eyes and effectively blinded him. He stumbled backwards and felt a sudden fear well up inside of him. Not only was he completely blind, most of his powers as a Whisperer were directly linked to his ability to look at a Pokemon making him almost powerless.

N tried to pull the gunk from off his eyelids, but it was sticky and firmly stuck to his skin. He heard them moving towards him and he stumbled backwards while saying, "why am I under arrest? What right do you have to do this to me?"

"Oh you're under arrest for a variety of reasons," a voice sounded next to him, "but for now let's just stick with breaking League rules that a Whisperer isn't allowed to fight in Gym Battles and the fact that you've been wandering around Unova as an unregistered Whisperer."

N felt his hands being pulled behind his back and felt the cold metal and heard the clicks of a pair of handcuffs being put onto his wrists. He was turned around and they started walking him back to the front of the Gym when he heard Drayden say, "make sure his transport is secure. I don't want anything happening while he's on route to Nuvema lab."

"How quickly do you think they'll retaliate?" N heard a feminine voice, Skyla, say.

"Considering who he is, I won't be surprised if we either get an attack or phone call from them at any moment. They will react to this. I'm just not quite sure how they will."

"Hey kid," a gruff voice (probably Clay's) said to him, "mind telling us what your partner Pokemon is? It would save us a whole lot of trouble."

N would have glared at him but seeing as he couldn't he just looked away from the direction of the voice.

"Didn't think so, but it don't hurt to ask."

"Elesa said it was probably a dark type, so keep your fighting type Pokemon out," a voice cautioned.

N heard the doors open and felt the warmth of the sun gently caressing his face as they dragged him out onto the jetway. It was then that N heard a familiar voice, _"N! What in Arceus' name are they doing to you?"_

N didn't say anything and desperately hoped Trixie would leave and tell Team Plasma… but then he remembered that even if she did go to them none of them would be able to understand her. 'Well maybe she can just stay low and not do anything stu-'

"Little girl this is no place for you to be. Now please step aside." N felt them try to move forward but they quickly stopped. "If you will not stop blocking our path I'll be forced to-"

_"Shut it you son-of-a-Herdier,"_ N heard Trixie say before punching the man next to him with enough force that N could hear him land a ways behind him. N couldn't help but smile when he heard the thud.

"That's no girl, that's a Zorua. She must be N's partner Pokemon!" a voice called a little off to the side of him. He heard several Pokemon being released and their battle cries.

"Trixie! Save yourself and run!" N yelled at her.

_"No you dummy. I'm never going to leave you_." Trixie said and he heard her battle cry as she went to fight. Unfortunately, Trixie may have been strong and had all the determination in the world, but she didn't stand a chance against the League's own Pokemon that they had spent years training.

Just then N heard a voice he thought he'd never be relieved to hear. "Bisharp use slash," N heard Katashi say. N then felt himself being pulled violently away from everything. He also felt that weird feeling of nothingness he always felt while being teleported.

* * *

"No!" Drayden roared as he looked up and saw the masked man teleport away with N. He glanced over at the young Zorua who was struggling to get up after getting a hard hit from his Haxarous' dragon claw. Another masked figure with the same white hair picked it up and also teleported away.

The other Gym Leaders glanced at each other in confusion and Skyla asked, "Did I just see a couple of humans just use teleport? I didn't even know that was possible!"

"There was something very wrong with those Pokemon," Zachery said quietly, "it's no surprise that other Whisperers can't control another Whisperer's partner Pokemon, but the Bisharp those men used were completely different. It was almost like they were machines… they had no soul to connect to and I couldn't stop them."

"There's something wrong with this entire situation!" Clay growled, "we had no idea what we were getting into. Whatever Team Plasma has planned, it's much bigger than some statement against the League."

"What happened?"

The four adults turn and see three teenagers staring at them incredulously.

"Nothing kids, just League business," Clay said gruffly.

"Wait does that mean you guys know about the Shadow Triad and N?"

The League members now all stare at the three of them. "What did you say? You called them the Shadow Triad?"

"Yeah, the three creepy ninja guys. They're awful."

"What are your names and how do you know about all of this?"

"My names Bianca and these are my friends Black and Ivory. We've been traveling Unova with N for a while now and boy do we have some crazy stories to tell."

* * *

Alder and Burgh burst into Team Plasma's doors with a couple of police officers at their side. The receptionist dropped the papers she was holding and let out a small squeak. Alder quickly walked up to her and asked, "where's Ghetsis Harmonia?"

"He-he's not here, sir! He left here two days ago, and I haven't heard from him since."

"Where are the other leaders of Team Plasma. You have six more, don't you? Surely one of them must be around?"

"I'm sorry sir, but no one of… um… significance is around. In fact, Team Plasma is not currently open to public, but of course that doesn't include the League."

"Search the entire building," Alder ordered.

The police searched room after room, but aside from a few desk clerks, there was no one in the entire building. Even the Plasma Garden was void of all Pokemon and Whisperers. The guards radioed in their findings to Alder and Alder turned to the receptionist and said, "Where is Team Plasma? They didn't all go on vacation!"

"I didn't see them all leave at once," Burgh said quietly, "which means that they left either by a different exit or planned it so that they left more discreetly. Either way, Team Plasma's planning something big."

"Tell us where they went," Alder said to the woman, "or we'll arrest you for obstruction of justice."

To Alder's astonishment, the woman began to laugh as she said, "as if you could frighten me."

"Arrest her," Alder said to the police officer. As the police officer approached her, she grabbed a jar of glittery pink stuff and threw a handful of it at his face and started sprinting for the door, but Burgh had already called out his Leavanny and ordered it to use string shot. The Leavanny had use it to bind the woman's feet together which effectively sent her flying to the floor and causing the jar in her hand to shatter sending up a puff of pink, glittery powder around her face. She then started to giggle uncontrollably.

"I think she just hit herself with Dream Mist," one of the officers said.

"We can use this to our advantage," Alder said as he knelt down and turned the giggling woman over to face him. "Now tell me where Team Plasma has gone"

The woman giggled quite a bit before saying to Alder, "you old fool. Your reign has ended along with your League's regime. It's the beginning of a new era. Our King will ascend, and you will all bow to him. Team Plasma will rule all of Unova."

Alder stared at her, "Team Plasma's planning on usurping the government and placing this king of yours at the head of it." The woman giggled and nodded at this, "Who is your king? Where are the rest of Team Plasma?"

"My King is so young and has so much passion. He loves Pokemon more than anyone else because they speak to him. Team Plasma has gathered to watch his ascent."

Burgh knelt down next to the woman and said, "stop giving us vague answers. Give us the name of your king and tell us the location of Team Plasma."

The woman giggled again before saying "my Lord N is our King. His father held his coronation and appointed him King and now he will lead us to a new era at Dragonspiral Tower where the rest of Team Plasma awaits."

"Why there? What does N plan on doing?"

"He will summon… Zekrom. The god of Ideals will follow my King and together they will change Unova."

Alder drops the woman in disgust and turns to Burgh, "We need to inform all of the League about this and get to Dragonspiral Tower as fast as we can."

* * *

"So, you've known N since you were young from when he lived in Discordian Wood. Could you tell us a little more about that?"

Black, Bianca, and I all sat in Skyla's office while we explained everything that had happened to us and our speculations into what could possibly be going on. I hadn't told them that N and I had been dating for a while before the Shadow Triad made me break up with him. I honestly wasn't sure how they would take it when they were clearly trying to arrest N. I had, however, told them about how N could talk to Pokemon, all the other crazy things that had happened, and how N was trying to get all the badges so he could see the Pokemon League for political reasons.

"There's not much to tell other than we played together all the time. His sisters were strong Pokemon trainers and they almost seemed to live to protect N. Black's never been as dedicated to helping and protecting me as those two were for N. They could also talk to Pokemon and Anthea had the power to heal people and Pokemon while Concordia was psychic."

"Aside from N's ability to speak with Pokemon, did you notice anything unusual."

"… yes. When I first met them, Concordia was always on edge around me even though I was like only five at the time, but when the years passed, she seemed to be okay with me and let N do more things around me. I remember that N would sing and all the Pokemon would gather around him and dance. I also remember that the Pokemon would do anything for N, I mean I know all Whisperers can do that, but it was different with him. It was like they were devoted to him and he could control a ton of them all at once like it was nothing."

"Hmm… if they were happy in the woods, why did they leave?"

I shuddered for a moment before saying, "I still remember the day it happened. I had gone into the woods to play with N and Trixie…

_"… look N," I called out to the young boy who was closely following me, "I found the patron goddess of Kanto, Mew!" I then started spinning around rapidly and said, "Oh no! I'm being teleported away!"_

_ N then said, "that's okay because I have Grace with me, and she teleports me to wherever Mew is teleporting you!"_

_ I then take off running to the other side of the meadow where I jump and say, "she teleported me to the Kalos region! I'm meeting the goddess Xerneas."_

_ N runs over and follows me while Trixie shouts out something. N translates "Trixie says she defeated Giratina in one move and is now being made a deity in the hall of origins. She now says that we have to listen to everything we say." Nightstar then starts to yip excitedly and N translates, "but Nightstar says that Arceus decided that she was too much like Giratina and sends her to rule the Distortion World in Giratina's place."_

_ I laugh and I'm about to say something when I hear a rustle to the side of the meadow. N and I look over as a man emerges from the woods. I grab N's hand and yell at the man: "who are you and what do you want." Nightstar and Trixie also growl intimidatingly at him._

_ The man comes into complete view and I see that he's accompanied by a Lucario. The man says, "don't worry you two. I mean you no harm. I actually have a Pokemon with me that needs to find a new home and friends. I saw you and the two other girls," he said addressing N, "outside these woods and selling berries. You seemed very kind, so I thought you would be a good friend for my Pokemon._

_ He then pulled out a pokeball and called out a round, puffy pink Pokemon. "Her name is Diva and her species is called Jigglypuff. She loves to sing. Why don't you ask her to sing for you?"_

_ N, who still apparently knows nothing about stranger danger despite having Concordia as a sister, runs up to the pink puffball and squeals, "she's so cute! Hi Diva, my name is N, could you sing for me?"_

_ Before Diva has a chance to sing, I look up and see that the man and even the Lucario have put on special headphone things. I yell at Nightstar, "attack that pink thing!" Nightstar immediately sends an electric shock onto the Pokemon. I grab N's hand and said, "that's a bad man! He's trying to do something bad to us so let's run."_

_ N and I run through the woods and we run back to the house and start shouting for Anthea and Concordia, but no one comes out._

_ "Concordia, Concordia," N screams as we stomp up the steps, "help us!"_

_ It was then that a Froakie appeared and sent his little puff balls at N and they hit him on the eyes. "Ivory," N sobbed, "I can't see anything!" Trixie immediately sprung into action with Nightstar close behind, but before they could reach the Froakie, an aura sphere was sent against them and both are sent into the wall of the house with such force that it breaks the wall. I look over and see the bad man and the Lucario._

_ "Why are you doing this?!" I yell at them._

_ "Sorry little girl, but we need to take your friend with us." At this N gasps and stumbles against the wall in an attempt to back away from the bad man._

_ Another man appears by the Froakie and calls out, "don't worry N. We'll take you to a much nicer place than here. Your two other friends are already going there as we speak."_

_ "No," I shouted, and I take N's hand and attempt to run with him back home, but the Froakie's tongue goes around N's waist and drags him back towards the other man._

_ "Go home little girl," the man with the Lucario sneers, "or something much worse might happen to you and your little Shinx." I notice that the man has an unconscious Nightstar in his arms while the other man has grabbed both N and Trixie. I start to sob uncontrollably, but I have no idea what to do. The man hands me Nightstar and again says, "Go home. There's nothing you can do to stop us from taking him."_

_ I hold Nightstar for a second and glance over at N who's still struggling against the other man. I then turn and run back into the woods and hear N shouting after me, "Ivory don't leave me. Ivory, IVORY!"_

I've started to cry by the end of the story. It feels so much like what's just happened between me and him now with the Shadow Triad. There's always been some force that keeps us apart. No that's not true. I was left alone to live my own life while N was always the one being taken and controlled.

The Gym Leaders look over at each other and I can tell they aren't all that surprised to hear a story like that. They look like they want to say more when they all get a text at the same time. Drayden looks at his phone and then asks us, "did N ever mention the Dragonspiral Tower or Zekrom before?"

"What? No, he never did?"

"Did he mention that he's the king of Team Plasma?"

"Huh? King- what? No."

"Either way, we need to get to Dragonspiral Tower now. You three should come with us as well."

* * *

"The Dark Stone, my Lord," Bronius said politely as he handed the stone over to N, "the Shadow Triad will obtain the remaining three badges and that will open the Pokemon League up for our forces to come and invade. We've been forced to move our plans ahead of schedule, but with Zekrom at you side, you should be able to defeat the Elite Four and the Champion there."

N nodded and said, "I'm ready." He was dressed in long white robes and he had a golden crown atop his head. The other sages were also dressed in robes, with Ghetsis' being the fanciest of all. There were members of Team Plasma all throughout Icirrus Town who looked on with confusion while Alex and Jenna had used a Serperior to restrain Gym Leader Brycen.

N looked up at the tall tower with the stone in hand and breathed deeply. 'This is it. It's finally happening.' He made his way up the tower and to the very top. He summoned up his strength and reached out with his mind to touch the heart of Zekrom. Immediately he felt the intelligence and power wash over him like a crashing wave. He persisted and felt excruciating agony as if his very molecules were being taken and separated. He felt a probing sensation wash over his mind and with every ounce of will power, N had he said, "I am Natural Harmonia. I have come to change Unova to my own ideal world. Join me Zekrom and make that dream a reality." He then directed all his powers towards the Dark Stone and felt it begin to respond.

_"Yes Natural Harmonia. I will listen to your voice."_ N looked up and saw that a fierce black dragon had appeared with pulsating red eyes, _"the humans and Pokemon of this world will tremble and shake before us until they conform to our will."_

N smiled and said, "Thank you Zekrom. Unova will be ours."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the Chapter! Things are finally coming together, and bad things are about to happen! Yay!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Alder jumped off his Braviary and ran towards the figures that were all standing around in Knight outfits or long fancy robes. He ran over to where Ghetsis and the other seven Sages were standing and yelled, "What are you doing? Do you seriously plan on making your own child summon the god Zekrom? Everyone who has ever attempted before died!"

Ghetsis smiled, "yes, but none of them were capable of handling it."

Alder growled, "and you think that your cause is worthier? You may be dressed up in all your nice robes, but that doesn't change what Zekrom will do. There have even been people who have tried using a child no older than ten and Reshiram still killed them all."

"Again. They couldn't control or channel the power of them. N will not fail."

Alder was about to give an angry retort when he heard an unearthly roar sounding from the top of Dragonspiral Tower. Alder paled as he looked up towards the tower "… it can't be."

"Our King has awakened Zekrom. Unova will now bend to our will and our ideal world shall finally be realized."

A dark storm brewed overhead while blue flashes of lightning lit the sky illuminating a ferocious looking black Pokemon. The Pokemon roared and soared down to the small Icirrus Town sending the townspeople running and cowering. N stood abreast the ferocious beast, a red aura the same color of Zekrom's eyes, emanating from his body. Zekrom landed in the small town in front of Team Plasma and Alder. N was lifted by what appeared to be telekinesis or some other power and he descended off of Zekrom and hovered by his side.

"Citizens of Icirrus," N spoke to the cowering townspeople, "you have been privileged to see the return of our god, Zekrom. He has chosen me to change this world into a better one. A one where all are alike both human and Pokemon, and Team Plasma shall head the new government and usher in a new era of peace and equality. Now citizens of Icirrus: release your Pokemon!"

The crowd stood in horror for a minute before one old man said, "he's-he's like the legends of old! Like the ancient kings that once ruled this land!" The man quickly pulled out his pokeballs and promptly released all of his four Pokemon. Soon all the citizens had done the same thing until all the Pokemon stood solemnly in front of their former trainers.

N then turned to Alder. "Former leader of Unova Region, I hereby challenge you to a battle. If you lose, all your Pokemon shall be released and you will yield to Team Plasma's new regime. If you win, I will abdicate my throne and have Zekrom return to dormancy. The challenge will be tomorrow at noon at the Pokemon League. Come if you dare."

With that N mounted Zekrom by the same telekinetic power and together they flew off into the sky leaving the townspeople gaping after them in wonder.

Ghetsis then stepped forward and said with a slight smirk. "Team Plasma gather all the released Pokemon. They need to be taken for relocation to more… suitable areas in the Unova Region." Ghetsis then turned to Alder and said patronizingly, "I know it must be terrifying to see a Pokemon revered as deity working with your enemy and soon to be king, but please show a little resistance at the battle before he completely destroys your team."

* * *

By the time we make it to Icirrus City, there are only a few guards of Team Plasma who leer at us menacingly. 'They don't even seem to care that there are three Gym Leaders here with us.' The townspeople are all standing still and gaping up at the sky. There are four children gawking up as well and one said, "and we used to sing about them."

Drayden runs over to Brycen who is the only one staring at the ground, his hands balled into fists. "What happened here Brycen?"

"That boy… that boy… N. He summoned Zekrom. I'd never think I would see Zekrom in my entire life and there he was in front of me. I wouldn't have believed it was possible," he looked up and I'm surprised how stoic and calm he looks, "the boy challenged Alder to a battle for the right to lead Unova."

"What! But he has Zekrom and he's a Whisperer. Alder doesn't stand a chance."

"I know…" Brycen says quietly. "He also released my Pokemon and Team Plasma captured them. I-I can't even fight them if I wanted to."

"We need to contact the Gym Leaders. Team Plasma has just declared treason and war on all the League. They're going to get one Distortion World of a fight before we go down."

"Those Herdiers are going to pay for what they did," Black said passionately, "can I come with you and help you fight Team Plasma."

"No," Drayden said flatly, "your Pokemon are far too weak. Skyla, gather together the pilots and prepare the Wing Force for battle. Clay, contact the triplets in Striaton and tell them I want them to try and infiltrate Team Plasma's true headquarters. You three," Drayden said turning to us. "Go to Opelucid City and wait there with my granddaughter, Iris. She's studying to be the next Champion so she's pretty powerful and you should be safe with her."

"Please sir," I beg Drayden, "let us go with you! N's my-our friend and maybe we can reason with him!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that. We've gotten reports that Team Plasma is already starting to flood Victory Road and are headed straight for the Pokemon League. N has given an official challenge to Alder tomorrow at noon and we're already overwhelmed enough as it is. We have to fight to stop Team Plasma."

"Besides," Clay said as he glanced over at us, "This N character may be their "king," but I don't think he has any real authority if what you've said about him is true. Team Plasma has just been using him to try and take over Unova."

"If N's a weapon, doesn't that mean we can use it against them," Black insisted.

"Yeah! Let us talk to N and maybe we can convince him to stop." Bianca pleaded.

"That may have worked before, but I fear N is currently beyond reason. He looked as if he was somehow connected to Zekrom and he didn't care if he terrified the people here. He's in too deep with Team Plasma to be talked to," Brycen said slowly.

"That's not true, I-" I began to say.

"Enough," Drayden said cutting me off. "Go to Opelucid City now. Here," he said as he pulled out a pokeball and unleashed a Dragonite. Ride on him and head there at once. When you get there tell Iris everything you just told us."

I don't want to leave, but it doesn't seem like anyone will listen to me. I climb on top of Dragonite and he roars as he jumps into the air sending the wind knocking into my face and causing my vision to go black a little from the G-force of the ascent. Soon we've leveled out and I see that we're flying above trees and I can see the small route and large bridge beneath us. I hear Bianca scream "I hate this!"

I don't blame her. The air is brisk and cold on my face and the Dragonite makes a lurching movement each time it flaps its wings. The only time the ride is relatively enjoyable is when the Dragonite's gliding, but then you just have the fear of falling off and crashing into the woods. When we finally land, I made a vow never to fly again. Nightstar also collapses to the ground and Black says: "dirt! How I've missed you!"

I notice that we've landed outside a home with images of different types of dragons engraved around the stone door. A young woman walks out and sees the Dragonite we're on and says, "that's my dad's dragon. What happened."

Black stared at her blankly. "You're Drayden's daughter? No offense, but you look nothing alike?"

"I'm adopted," Iris said simply. "Anyway, what's happened?"

Bianca quickly explains what happened and Iris says, "come inside and tell me the rest in here." Bianca and I finish our stories and Iris looks at us and says, "well… this is really, really bad. I need to head over to the Pokemon League at once and help as much as I can." She pulls out her phone and texts something and as she is walking towards the door, she gets a phone call. "Dad! I heard about everything that's happened, I'm coming immediately… what? Why not?... but I can't abandon the League at a time like this… okay, but be careful."

"What's going on?" Black asked when Iris hung up the phone.

"He wants me to stay here and watch the fight instead of joining it."

"Why?"

"He wants me to serve as resistance in case they… in case they don't succeed in beating Team Plasma." Iris stood quietly for a second before saying, "how could this have happened? How were we not more prepared? How did it even happen?"

I understood how she was feeling. Everything was so overwhelming and stories with the legenderies and evil crime syndicates always seemed to take place in other Regions. Kanto was overrun with Team Rocket, but what Region wasn't affected by them? Even the Alola Region had them running the local black market. Team Rocket had been the longest standing criminal organization and had their hand in politics, but they had never done anything like this. The closest thing that any Region had experienced that even resembled this one was in Sinnoh when Team Galactic had summoned the gods Palkia and Dialga, but that time no trainer had even become deeply involved until after the fact because the leader, Cyrus, was dragged into the Distortion World by Giratina. This was different. N was actually commanding the god Zekrom. No one was really prepared to take down one of the patron gods of any Region.

An older woman walked into the room and said to Iris, "you're going to want to see this."

We followed her into the side room where there the TV was turned on. Ghetsis was on the screen. "He's on every channel," the woman said.

"People of Unova. I am Ghetsis Harmonia of Team Plasma. I come bearing glorious news of the changes that have occurred in our Region. For quite some time, this Region has been plagued and oppressed by the Pokemon League. They have built a society on the backs of slaves, our Pokemon. They battle and fight in order to establish dominance over this Region and control Unova with an iron grip. I speak especially of the Pokemon of this Region. How often do they go overlooked, how often are they exploited, and how often are they abused? We humans ignore their plight and the corruption of the League in favor of idleness and blissful obliviousness. Team Plasma will not stand for this! Earlier today, a Hero was recognized by Zekrom, just as one of the kings of old. Tomorrow, they will overthrow the Champion and the Elite Four and bring a new order to Unova. Unova will no longer be an oligarchy that is brutally fought for by using slaves, now it will be a glorious monarchy that is led by the very patron god Zekrom himself. A new day has dawned for Unova! I ask the citizens to join Team Plasma! Unite with us and stand by Zekrom and our new king."

The program then cut off and it returned to whatever had been playing before. Black, Bianca, and I just stared at each other. Iris glared at the screen and said, "the League won't let that happen."

* * *

The sun was high in the sky as it shown brightly down on the glossy white pillars of the Pokemon League. After N had crashed into the ceiling with Zekrom where the Elite Four, he had battled them all at once and defeated each of them. It hadn't been hard with Zekrom and his power combined. N had simply held the Pokemon at bay while Zekrom had used Fusion Bolt on all of them. It was about noon and N stood at the pinnacle of the Pokemon League facing Alder.

Members of Team Plasma and the League were also there with cameras and were silently taking footage of the battle that was about to happen. "You cannot hope to win," N called out over to Alder, "if you surrender now, you may have a place in Team Plasma where you may try and unify the League and Team Plasma."

"Never, you spoiled little brat!" Alder snapped, "you don't even have the guts to fight a fair battle. You'll always rely on your powers to get what you want."

"According to the League, a trainer should exploit a Pokemon as much as they want, use whatever power their Pokemon have, and try their hardest to win."

"Of course that isn't true and you know it!" Alder growled, "Pokemon should be treated with respect and love. They aren't just some tools that we use to get what we want."

"Yet, we carry them around in our pockets and call them out whenever we feel like it. You battle and cause the Pokemon physical pain in an attempt to obtain power and recognition. You place bets on which Pokemon will win and you train them endlessly to make them stronger. Even when humans don't train them, they treat them as mere objects to pet and to decorate with gaudy outfits and hairstyles. This world is corrupt and must be changed. Now, battle me! If you are truly in the right then your Pokemon should choose to follow you!"

Alder looked like he wanted to throttle N's neck, but instead he just sent out all his Pokemon and ordered them to first take down N and then Zekrom. The Pokemon had only made it out halfway across the field when N smiled and held out his arms. All the Pokemon stopped and looked intently at him. "Zekrom," N said in an almost bored sounding voice, "use Fus-"

Suddenly a jet of water burst at him from the side and sent him flying across the field and land in a heap completely drenched. N struggled to his feet and untangled himself from his robe. He looked up and saw all of the Gym Leaders standing alongside their Pokemon.

"You didn't think we would let Alder have all the fun in taking you down, did you?" Burgh called out.

"If you want a fight kid, you're going to get a real fight," Drayden roared at him, "Ashton use dragon rage," Drayden ordered his Haxarous while pointing at Zekrom.

N ran over and stopped Haxarous in his tracks, but Burgh's Serperior used its vines to grab N's leg and trip him sending him crashing to the floor. 'This isn't working,' N thought in irritation. N stood again and said "Zekrom let's show them the true powers of a god!"

Zekrom screamed its battle cry and immediately took the sky as gray clouds began to swirl around the sky which had previously been crystal blue. Blue lightning began flashing and surrounding Zekrom. N stared at Zekrom and concentrated. He felt as their minds and auras became one and felt as the power once again surged through him. The power was overwhelming and felt as if it would burn through his body, but he focused and felt the flames die down and a semblance of balance return to him. N looked over at the League, his body once more pulsating with a red aura.

'Zekrom,' N thought, 'use Fusion Bolt.' Zekrom descended as his tail burned blue and sent out a volt of blue electricity toward the Pokemon and effectively electrified half of them.

"Ashton, Dragon Rage," Drayden called. N was surprised to find that the Pokemon reacted surprisingly quickly for being attacked with electricity and jumped to attack Zekrom. The attack landed on target, but Zekrom barely even flinched.

"You believe that a mere Haxarous has the capacity of defeating Zekrom? He isn't considered to be one of the gods of this Region for nothing!" N shouts at him.

Skyla than calls on her radio, "all pilots attack now!" A group of flying type Pokemon flew up to where Zekrom was. Many of these Pokemon had other Pokemon on their backs consisting mainly of ice and ground types. There were several dragon types flying among them as well who all started attacking Zekrom at once. Zekrom was hit on every side by dozens of ice beams, mud shots, mud bombs, and dragon breaths.

Zekrom roared in rage and even with a slight tinge of hurt from the onslaught of attacks. 'Zekrom use dragon claw,' N thought, but the move was only able to bring down a few of the dragon types that weren't fast enough to avoid the attack. N angrily yelled, "Enough," as he concentrated on the Pokemon surrounding Zekrom and caused them all to stop their attack. N felt the exertion from concentrating on all those Pokemon while maintaining his connection to Zekrom take a toll on him. N's legs began to shake and eventually gave way as he collapsed to his knees. 'Zekrom use Fusion Bolt now.'

Zekrom roared as several bolts of electricity came to Zekrom which he then released in a large burst of energy and sent all of the Pokemon falling to the ground. N wanted to collapse after expending all that energy, but the battle was far from over.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the Chapter! I'll admit that I hate writing battles. I get bored of describing it, and I hate that you always have to have the trainer yelling orders. I also made Zekrom and N way more powerful because I don't understand why any evil Team would bother summoning a Legendary if you could just stop it with a super strong set of Pokemon. I mean I guess they have special abilities or whatever. Anyway, I wrote the Legendaries more like gods from mythology who don't mind killing fools. Makes you wonder why N was able to summon Zekrom. Wait and see (or read)!**

**As always, please review if you have any questions or comments!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

"Soon enough N will defeat all the League and we'll have to start systematically taking control of each city and taking their Pokemon. All Pokemon will then be in our control and only Team Plasma will control them. With the people powerless to fight against us, it will be easy to stop any rebellions and insurgents. Society will have to rely completely on Team Plasma for transportation between cities and protection from wild Pokemon within the city."

"Excellent. Have you already barred all communication between Regions? Have we stopped other airways from being able to land in Unova?"

"It was much more difficult with the time restraint, but our operatives still managed to break in and send out an official declaration that any and all people riding planes about to land in Unova will be arrested."

"We still don't have the police under our control though."

"True, but when the battle at the Pokemon League has finished, we will send our men out to the airfields and around the more resistant cities."

"Good. I don't want the United Regions to become involved until Team Plasma is well established, and N is able to summon Reshiram as well. Has Colress contacted us back yet on the development of the DNA splicers?"

"It's ready. With Kyurem and Zekrom in our posession, we can experiment on their fusion first before completing it by adding Reshiram."

"…Does N know about our plan to resurrect the original Tao Pokemon of Unova by infusing the three's DNA together?"

"Not, yet. He'll know when we're fully prepared and we need him to control it."

"…He may not consent to doing such a thing to Pokemon…"

"Let me worry about him, Rood. For the moment all we have to concentrate on is conquering Unova and preparing our forces for when the United Regions to retaliate. By the time they come our forces should be strong enough to defeat anything they send at us."

* * *

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Chili, who was currently dressed as a Plasma guard, muttered as he and his two brothers were standing by the door to the royal halls in the Plasma manor attempting to eavesdrop on the Sages.

"Not really," Cilan whispers. "These doors and walls are pretty thick. It sounds more like a bunch of mumbles to me."

"Why couldn't we go and help the League fight N," Cress mutters.

"The real question is why we aren't storming into this place and killing those old geezers with our Pokemon!" Chili growls.

"I just hope the League wins…" Cilan says quietly.

The trio hear a clamor of boots around the corner and immediately all three of them stiffen and act as if they were normal Plasma guards protecting the doors into the royal halls. Several Plasma members dressed as knights come running around the corner with big grins. They skid to a halt outside the door and only stop to politely knock on the door.

"Enter," Ghetsis' voice sounds.

The Plasma grunts eagerly push the doors open and says, "Wonderful news Lord Ghetsis and Sages! King N and our forces have defeated the League! It was a glorious battle!"

"As expected, the League never stood a chance against us. What is being done with the Champion, Elite Four, and Gym Leaders?"

"They've all been taken into Team Plasma's custody."

"Keep them locked away and until we've fully taken over the rest of Unova. Then they will all be brought to trial for the crimes they've committed against Pokemon."

The brothers all glanced at each other in shock and worry, "Not good!" Chili mouths over to the two on the other side of the door. The Team Plasma grunts walk away and the doors close once more as the trio stands stiffly to the side. When the coast is clear, the trio walk away and Chili says, "What are we going to do! The League's fallen and we're here walking around with these traitors in their crappy uniforms! I always thought that Team Plasma was weird and more of a cult than anything. Now I know that I'm right!"

"Keep your voice down," Cress hissed at Chili, "you never know who might be listening. I say that we keep exploring Plasma's manor and try to find any way to take them down."

"I know that I would never usually say this," Cilan says quietly, "but maybe we should try attacking now since we were able to steal some uniforms and actually infiltrate Team Plasma."

"Even if we were to attack, their leader, N, would come back with Zekrom, and then what would we do?"

"We'll probably get electrocuted, but at least we'll be able to take out those Sages and put a huge dent in Team Plasma's structure."

"You wish to destroy Team Plasma?" a feminine voice asked from behind them.

The trio freeze as they slowly turn around to face their speaker. To their surprise, there were two girls behind them and neither of them were wearing knight uniforms. They wore simple dresses and looked to be in their twenties. They didn't appear to have any intentions to attack the brothers or to call for help. Cilan cautiously asked, "who are you?"

The blond one said, "my name is Concordia and this," she said while gesturing to the younger pink haired girl, "is my sister Anthea. We are N's guardians and protectors. I'll ask it again; do you intend on attacking Team Plasma?"

* * *

I couldn't believe how much my world could change just from the events of a few hours. We had all watched the battle between N and the Champion and the other Gym Leaders. They all fought with everything they had, but they didn't stand a chance against N or Zekrom. After N had taken out the swarm of Pokemon that had surrounded Zekrom, N had looked exhausted afterwards, but he continued to battle the other Gym Leaders. None of the Pokemon came even near to hurting N and Zekrom was powerful enough to shake off most of the normal Pokemon's blows. I couldn't get over how creepy N looked with the red glow around him and I was stunned at his ability to stop so many Pokemon at once. By the end, all of the Gym Leaders' Pokemon lay defeated, even Drayden's Haxarous who fought loyally and for the longest time, and Zekrom roared in triumph before the broadcast cut off.

The next few weeks had gone in a blur. Team Plasma had suddenly flooded the streets and were taking everyone's Pokemon. Any city that was found resisting and refusing to submit to Team Plasma would receive a personal visit from N and Zekrom which would effectively end all conflict. This was also broadcasted so everyone would know what would happen if they refused to give up their Pokemon or conform to Team Plasma's will. I remember watching as Team Plasma attacked the affluent Aspertia City and the people refused to listen to or even look at the members of Team Plasma. When Team Plasma took out their Pokemon to fight, the residents did as well, and they were able to defeat several of the members of Team Plasma. That was until N came with Zekrom and forcibly stopped the fighting while Team Plasma took away their Pokemon. I still remember watching a little girl screaming while Team Plasma took her young Purrloin from her and an older boy stood there yelling at them.

Iris, Black, Bianca, and Cheren, who had joined us shortly after all the events of the Pokemon League when we had called him and told him where we were, all stayed hidden in Iris' house. Drayden's wife, Alanna, told the Team Plasma members that would come by that Iris wasn't home. She also told them she had released her own Pokemon in the wild after N's victory, but Team Plasma was suspicious, and we worried that they would decide to search the house. Nothing had happened yet, mostly because Team Plasma was too busy taking over everything, but we knew that it could happen at any moment.

Alanna and I were the only ones to leave the house because neither of us were trainers. As a Whisperer, I was also the only one allowed to keep my Pokemon which might prove useful in a fight against Team Plasma. Iris in the meantime was trying to form a resistance group to go against Team Plasma, but there was apparently something jamming the signal throughout all of Unova, and we weren't able to access the internet or get phone service. It was terrifying to realize how prepared Team Plasma was for this takeover.

Eventually, Alanna and I had snuck into an abandoned Pokemon Center and went to a dashboard where the old telephones operated. No one used them anymore (and most people thought it was stupid when you heard 'ring, ring, ring phone call, phone call'), but they were connected through land lines instead of Wi-Fi which meant that we would be able to get a call through- just not a video image. I called Professor Juniper and I heard her answer and cautiously asked "who is this?"

"It's me Professor! Ivory Greystorm. I'm here with Alanna, Iris, Black, Bianca, and Cheren in Opelucid City. Iris is trying to create a resistance team to go up against Team Plasma!"

"I'm so glad that you are all okay! We've barricaded ourselves into the lab, but Team Plasma keeps trying to push through and get inside. We're worried it won't be much longer before N and Zekrom come and just blast through. Does Iris have a plan? I'm amazed she still has her Pokemon!"

"She has her Pokemon… but we don't have anyone else here to help fight back. We were wondering if you could help us reestablish communication so we can band together and form a resistance."

"We've all been working hard at doing just that, but the problem is it appears to be an actual signal that Team Plasma is emitting, and we would need to find the source and manually switch it off. We would have to go fight Team Plasma before we did that."

I felt my heart sink and said, "is there nothing that we can do to stop this?"

Professor Juniper doesn't say anything for a while before finally, "we might just need to wait and let the United Regions step in and help. We could use some powerful Pokemon Masters at our side to try and defeat Team Plasma, but by that point all the citizens will be unable to assist in anyway because we won't have any Pokemon. I also believe that Team Plasma isn't just relocating Pokemon. I have a feeling that they may actually be keeping them for themselves and distributing them among their ranks."

"That's messed up! That isn't even what Team Plasma stands for!"

"Ivory you're still thinking of Team Plasma as an activist group. I believe they were looking to take control over Unova for a while and that their ideals were just a front to recruit members and get people's support. I had already noticed that Team Plasma was more of a cult than just a political group. It seems to me that once they've recruited a member, they start to initiate them and tell them all about how glorious their cause is until they truly believe it. Team Plasma is so convinced they're right that it's almost impossible to reason with them."

I thought about this for a moment and realized that Professor Juniper was right. Hadn't I noticed how devoted each Plasma member was to their cause? Most of them practically worshipped the Sages and I can't imagine how they were around N now that he had summoned Zekrom. They probably worshipped him like some creepy religion.

"What can we do?"

"Wait… and hope that Arceus will send us a miracle."

* * *

"So, are you two finally going to tell us more about who you are?" Cilan asked. For these past couple of weeks, Concordia and Anthea had kept the trio hidden and safe while delivering food and telling them what was happening in the outside world. They also had started to tell them all about Team Plasma's tactics, the Sages, and the areas of the mansion that housed important and protected things. There was the dungeon in the basement where the League was being held, the secret laboratory that they had never seen, and where the Sages were. Most of the Sages had gone to different cities to oversee the takeovers. Only Ghetsis and Rood remained here, but even than they would often leave to go and oversee the takeover.

The trio had been planning an attack for a while now and had gotten the entire lay out of the building, but they still had no idea how to access the dungeon. The lab, on the other hand, was accessed through a keycard which Anthea and Concordia had finally managed to swipe and give to the brothers.

"I mean you don't dress like the Plasma members and you want to help us," Cilan continued "and you mentioned you were N's guardians, but I haven't seen you around him at all. The League said it was those ninjas that were protecting N."

Concordia looked angry at this and said, "That Shadow Triad are heartless and evil mercenaries. Their loyalty is only to Ghetsis and not to N at all. We are only loyal to N not to Team Plasma and certainly not to Ghetsis. We are not around N because Ghetsis has separated us so that we could have no influence over him. These past few years we've been living as servants or studied as lab rats and have never been permitted to speak to N."

"Well I'm still confused," Chili said flatly, "who are you guys?"

Concordia and Anthea glanced at each other. "Well now that you will finally be able to go into the lab, you'll be able to switch off the communication jammer and contact anyone willing to listen and help. You'll probably fight Team Plasma now… and N," Anthea said slowly.

Concordia nodded, "it's time you know the truth about us and N. You'll need to know it if you are to defeat Ghetsis and N."

"First you should know that myself, Anthea, and N are not ordinary, and we do not come from here. Even though N was born and raised in Unova, he is hardly a Unovan. You see our mothers, Rhea and Lady Melody, come from Sinnoh, but not just the Region. There is a secret society that resides in the heart of Eterna forest that is home to humans gifted with special talents and abilities over Pokemon. The myths and legends of ancient heroes and prophets all come from this society and their branches. The ancient kings of Unova are ancestors of this society. When my mother left the society to protect Lady Melody, I was twelve and Anthea was only four. It was beautiful there and everyone had the ability to speak to Pokemon. Pokemon wandered around freely and held positions in councils and were respected as fellow citizens. Legendary Pokemon would often come to visit and speak with our King and the royal family. Most residents had powers such as the ability to heal like Anthea or being psychic like I am. Others had Aura powers or even displayed the powers of Pokemon.

"Then there was the Royal Family themselves. They were the most powerful of us all because they had the ability to influence even the very gods. Their ancestors were said to have gained the favor and love of Arceus Himself who then blessed them with these immense powers. They were the original rulers of this world and they themselves were almost revered as much as the deities that served them."

"I've heard the myths about them… but if they still exist, why aren't they still here?" Cress asked.

"A new era in human history had begun," Concordia said simply, "with the development of pokeballs, ordinary humans were able to venture out and explore the world without the protection of the Whisperers. The rulers had also… lost favor in the sight of many of the citizens and even the Legendries themselves. They were so powerful that the wars they waged against each other were devastating, think about how Unova was almost destroyed by Zekrom and Reshiram. It wasn't until another ancient ruler by the name AZ actually built a machine to resurrect his bonded Pokemon and destroy his own citizens in an attempt to stop fighting, that Arceus decreed that the Royal Family should no longer be the rulers of this earth. Many of them were banished into the hearts of the areas where the most dangerous Pokemon resided. Eventually, they came together and formed a society that lived peacefully apart from the world."

"but we didn't remain completely isolated," Anthea added, "we too would send others out on journeys to travel the world and meet new people. The King would also occasionally send out his family when we were needed to stop a catastrophe from happening. We were the ones who released Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie when Team Galactic tried to harness their power to make red chains and control the gods Palkia and Dialga. We also had a hand in summoning Giratina and stopping Cyrus.

"That's where Lady Melody comes in. She's the daughter of our King and she was one of the most powerful of his children. She had such a way with Pokemon and all the Legendries that visited adored her. Our King was very protective of her and didn't even allow her to go on any journeys, but when I was very young and Anthea not even born, we heard of an atrocity committed by Team Rocket. They had apparently created a replica of the goddess Mew and called it Mewtwo. Lady Melody was sent to calm the powerful creature so that it wouldn't go on to destroy the world as it had already destroyed the Rocket base it had been created on. Our mother accompanied her on her quest, and they were both successful. Mewtwo was brought into our society where he was taught about the ways of humans and not that all people were bad."

Concordia then sighed and said, "I'm afraid that Lady Melody enjoyed the thrill of traveling so much that she wanted to keep doing it. She insisted that she go on a journey of her own and left without even receiving our King's permission. My mother was devastated by this. You see our mother was sort of like how Pokemon are to their bonded Whisperers. She was completely dedicated to Lady Melody and swore to protect her and watch over her. She shared the same bond with Lady Melody that me and Anthea do with N."

"I didn't even know it was possible for humans to form those kinds of bonds," Cress breathed.

"Seriously? These two are telling us that they come from a place where the gods walk among them and the only thing that's weird to you is that?" Chili snorted.

"Anyway," Concordia said continuing, "my mother decided to take the two of us and leave the society in search of Lady Melody. We had searched for several years before we finally found her. I'm not quite sure what had happened to her on her journey, it was never my place to ask, but when we finally found her, she was married to Ghetsis and lived here in this building with him. Our mother tried to convince her to return with us to our home in Sinnoh, but by that point she was already with child and didn't want to leave her new home in Unova… or her husband Ghetsis."

"We lived here for a few years in peace and tranquility. I remember when N was born, and everyone wondered if he possessed the same powers as Lady Melody. Before he could even speak, he appeared to already be listening to and understanding the Pokemon around him. When he was only three, he bonded with Trixie and he already started to display some of Lady Melody's powers. To our surprise, not only did N appear to be as powerful as Lady Melody, he was also more powerful. Shortly after Concordia and I performed the ceremony to create the bond where we committed to watch over and protect him for the rest of our lives."

"Those were happy years," Concordia said quietly, "but then it all changed. I'm not sure what had happened, but one night, Lady Melody came to us and said we had to leave. She took N, my mother, and us and fled from here, but there were so many servants, who we had always thought of as friends, that tried to stop us. We managed to escape and flee all the way down to Nuvema town where we were to get transportation to take us to Sinnoh. While we were waiting, Ghetsis and Team Plasma came to stop us. We ran into Discordian Wood to hide from them, but they had several powerful trainers and a couple of Whisperers with them, so they went in after us. When we reached a clearing, they started attacking us with their Pokemon. Shadow and Ivana, the Umbrion and Espion bonded to Lady Melody fought back, but the Pokemon Ghetsis used were… different. They didn't react to Lady Melody at all and they grabbed her. N, Anthea, and I were at the borders of the glade. I was trying to attack using my Pokemon, but none of them responded to me. It was so awful… members of Team Plasma kept trying to persuade N to come over to them because he was the only one who could stop his parents from fighting. N was so confused and didn't understand what was happening. It was then that I pulled out my Vanillish and ordered him to use mist. When it was foggy enough that we couldn't see Team Plasma anymore, I took N and Anthea and ran deep into the woods where the Pokemon then showed us a rundown house where we could live in. We stayed there until Ghetsis found us and took us back here. We've been living here ever since."

Cilan, Cress, and Chili all stared at them in bewilderment. "That was one messed up story, but that only makes things seem a lot worse. Not only is Ghetsis sick and twisted, N is also apparently this super powerful kid that can command Legendaries! How are we supposed to stop him?"

"You can't," Anthea said quietly, "Ghetsis has been planning this out for years. He's done everything in his power to keep N under his control and kept him protected this entire time. He originally planned this takeover when Lady Melody supported him, but when she died, he had to wait until N was old enough for him to start. Ghetsis has wanted this for so long that he didn't even wait until N had turned eighteen to start his conquest of Unova."

"Well that sure makes us feel more confident about taking them down," Chili said dryly.

"What I'm saying is that you can't stop N by sheer force. He's too powerful for that. Only a person from our society could summon another Legendary to battle him, but to be honest, I don't even know how to contact them or tell them our situation."

"…Could you two do it?"

Concordia paused for a moment before saying, "we draw all of our power from N… we could probably channel that energy into summoning a Legendary, but we don't have access to a Legendary and I still wouldn't be able to win."

"I think we might actually be able to access a Legendary. The Light Stone was taken from the League's possession not too long ago and I have a feeling that it's probably Team Plasma who was behind that. I bet they have it somewhere around here and if you can summon it, we might have a chance against N."

Concordia shook her head, "our powers come from N, he can redirect it back to his will. Then he would have power over two Legendaries."

"We need to convince him to stop," Anthea said quietly. She looked up at the three and said, "we think of N as our brother and even though we haven't been able to spend as much time with him, we know he's still a good person. N doesn't want to hurt anyone and if Concordia can form a psychic link between him, maybe we can try to talk him out of this."

"You'll never get the chance," Cress said bitterly, "Ghetsis has him so well guarded that you won't even be able to get anywhere near him."

Concordia paused to think for a moment, "then perhaps we should summon Reshiram. We may not be able to hold off N, but it will certainly catch N's attention and stop Ghetsis from trying to get in between us… unless he wants to get obliterated by the fire," Concordia said with a slight smirk.

"Well no time to waste than. Let's go down to this secret lab of theirs and see what they have hidden. At the very least, I hope to reestablish communications and contact people."

**A/N: Hooray for explanations! So, when I was writing about N and how he could summon Legendaries, I was thinking about the Pokemon movie The Jewel of Life with Arceus. I thought it was really interesting how Damos and Kiko were able to connect to the hearts of Pokemon and even Legendaries like Arceus. I also noticed that there were a lot of weird people in the movies that had crazy powers or were able to do some crazy stuff (they're also in the anime). That's when I got this crazy idea that there are secret societies that have people where they have a variety of powers. I then thought about how Damos was the king and stuff so then I thought that people who were able to connect with Legendaries were part of the royal family. The random crazy powerful people that you see that come help Ash and his friends are actually Celestas (in my fanfiction) who come and help stop a disaster. Long story short, N's a once in blue moon kid from with a cool power where he can connect and control Legendaries. Since people like him are so powerful, you need others defending them. In N's case it's Anthea and Concordia! I mean those two are officially listed as goddesses in Bulbapedia and they don't get enough credit or recognition. Go Anthea and Concordia!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Iris sat glumly on the floor and muttered, "I wish dad had let me come battle… then at least I wouldn't feel so helpless and useless. Are you sure that's all Professor Juniper said? Not anything like developing an anti-Plasma virus?"

I sigh and say, "No. Just to wait for the United Regions or for a miracle. Whichever comes first."

"Probably the United Regions," Black said darkly, "If they even bother coming. They might think of us as a lost cause and instead try to set up new treaties and diplomacy with Team Plasma. Who knows? They might even recognize Team Plasma as a new government. What do you think Team Plasma will rename Unova? Pokeland? Equalmania? Or my personal favorite, Ghetsis is Awesome Land."

"Don't joke about things like that," Bianca said, "The United Regions will come, and they'll stop N and Team Plasma. Don't worry!"

"Bianca don't be so naïve," Cheren said sharply, "The United Regions has no idea how to deal with a guy that just summoned a Legendary and made himself the self-proclaimed king of Unova. They'll probably just try and talk to him and not even send any forces to stop him."

"I wish we could talk to N," I say quietly, "I'm sure if anyone could get through to him, we could. He's our friend and he might listen to us."

"I still can't believe you guys travelled around with him and didn't notice anything," Cheren said irritably, "You'd think a guy bent on world domination would slip up and mention something."

"That's the thing," Bianca said, "He never mentioned anything like that aside from wanting to change society... and needing the badges for the League to make a political statement… and all that thing about winners deciding what's right… oh. You're right. We should have seen this coming."

"Why? A lot of teenagers want to change the world, but most of them don't end up actually doing anything about it. N was just the first one we know that did," I say quietly.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Iris said, "All that matters is what we do now."

"Which… is nothing," Black said bitterly.

At that moment Iris' phone started to ring. All of us look at each other in shock. 'How is the phone ringing? There's no signal?' Iris regains her composure and picks up her phone and to my surprise she puts it on speaker.

"Iris speaking."

"Iris! It's me your favorite Gym Leader Chili!"

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright! How are you calling me?"

"We broke into Plasma's HQ and got into their lab. There's some pretty gnarly stuff in here including duh-duh-DUH the Light Stone that was stolen!"

"Have you been able to free the other Gym Leaders?"

"No. It looks like it was newly built with facial recognition stuff. This place is older and only needed a key card. It's weird though. It's pretty small here and a lot of it has been emptied. I think they have an even bigger facility that they're shipping this stuff to."

"It's lucky the Light Stone was unguarded."

"They were probably thinking the same thing we were when we had the Light Stone on display. Even if someone were to take it they probably wouldn't be able to summon Reshiram."

"Yeah… and they're right unless you're going to tell me that Cilan is N's secret brother or something."

"Well they do both have green hair… but truth be told our hair's all naturally brown and we just dyed them these colors to match the type we specialized in."

"Anyways," Cilan's voice sounded, "We might actually have a way of summoning Reshiram and standing up against N and Team Plasma, but it's kind of a long shot."

"Cilan at this point it's either be conquered or at least put up some resistance and try to stop Team Plasma."

"Well we found these two girls, Anthea and Concordia-"

"What!" I shout, "You've met Anthea and Concordia?"

"Um… yes. They're with me right now."

"Anthea! Concordia! It's me Ivory? How have you been?" I know it's not the most appropriate time to ask, but I was just so excited to know they were still okay.

"Oh Ivory it's you!" I hear a girls voice say, "it's been so long! Well we could be better, but hopefully we can make things right by summoning Reshiram."

"You're going to summon Reshiram?" Iris said quietly, "are you sure you can?"

"I believe so."

"Well what do you need from us."

"We need you to come and help us with a distraction. Do you still have your Pokemon?"

"Yes."

"Well you're the strongest trainer that there is now. We need you to attack Plasma mansion to make the guards leave and give Anthea and Concordia time to summon Reshiram."

"Come to this address," Cress said and then read off an address, "I know this might seem counterintuitive, but don't invite a lot of people to come fight with you. Most of our friends are in the League and have probably had their Pokemon taken from them and might be monitored. You can try rallying a couple of weaker trainers to come and support, but no one that Team Plasma would recognize as a threat. If you can, try to get as many Whisperers here as you can."

"Alright. How soon should we come?"

"As soon as you can. We've been here for a while now, and it's obvious that this is only the beginning of Team Plasma's plan. The longer we wait the more powerful Team Plasma becomes. It's already nearly impossible to stop them as it is."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Iris promised, "good luck there."

Iris then hung up the phone and looked up at us. "Are all of you ready to fight?"

* * *

Ghetsis walked through the doors to the prison and straight to where the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and Champion were being held in cells separated by walls and clear glass. They all looked over at him and glared. Ghetsis smirked at them and said, "It's such a pity to find such powerful people trapped in such a small enclosed space. Well I guess you now know how your Pokemon feel."

"Save your Plasma crap for someone who actually cares," Clay growled, "you probably don't believe it yourself. All you want is to have all of Unova for yourself."

"Perhaps," Ghetsis said simply, "but I will remind you that Unova is now Team Plasma and not yours anymore."

"Unova isn't the League's. It belongs to the people that live here. No one party should have complete control over it. Especially when that party is willing to use force to assert their will over others and take away their freedom," Drayden said quietly.

The other Gym Leaders remained silent and they all looked fairly discouraged. There was a TV screen in the prison which they all had clear view of. All it had been showing was city after city that had been taken over by Team Plasma with their banners now being hoisted alongside the streets and over former League buildings. It was a depressing sight and even more sad to see when fewer and fewer people fought against Team Plasma. Recently they had just seen all of the Village Bridge release all of their Pokemon without even having Plasma members show up and force them to. Unova's spirit was already breaking and they were all quickly conforming to Team Plasma's will.

"Freedom is such an interesting matter isn't it. Everyone says they want it, yet they would all prefer the safety and comfort that comes with an oppressive government. They will conform until they have grown accustomed to their new situation, then they will believe that they are free. They will believe that our society is better than it was before."

"You bastard," Alder shouted, "you'll never be able to maintain your hold on Unova!"

"Of course I will," Ghetsis replied calmly, "I plan on being a fair leader and besides, many of the superstitious citizens will believe that this is Arceus' will. Seeing N with Zekrom after defeating all of you in battle is more than enough to convince them of that. People will conform, and they will be glad to do so.

Look, I didn't come here to simply gloat," Ghetsis continued 'well maybe a little,' Ghetsis thought smugly to himself, 'the hopeless looks on their expressions is more than enough to make me satisfied,' "I came here to offer all of you a deal. Join Team Plasma. Stand by our side and make the transition easier for those who still are used to the old way of thinking. You all have families do you not? I'm sure you would like to see them again. By siding with Team Plasma, you will not only save yourself, but you will help others including your family that may be treated unfairly from some of the more… passionate members of Team Plasma."

The League members continued to glare at him, but Ghetsis could see he had affected a few of them. Burgh and Grimsly looked like they wanted to murder him, but Lenora looked worried and even Clay shifted uncomfortably. Ghetsis continued, "and besides. If you do not join us, I will be forced to have you all executed after Team Plasma has fully taken control of Unova. Think about it, but not for too long. Unova has almost all but given way to Team Plasma."

With that he turned and walked out the door, leaving the League members speechless. Ghetsis smiled as he walked down the hall. 'I've done it,' Ghetsis thought to himself, 'after all these years of planning and waiting, I've finally done it.' He turned into the throne room and walked up to where the king's chair was. He rubbed his hand over it and thought, 'it's all mine now.'

Suddenly he got a message on his phone from Rood saying, 'check the channels. Someone has hacked into our system and is broadcasting something.' Ghetsis quickly checked his phone and saw an image of a young woman with purple hair and coppery skin appear. She said:

"People of Unova, I am Iris Shaga of Opelucid and proud League Member of our fair Region. Unovans we have had our homes and Pokemon forcibly taken from us from our former allies, Team Plasma. They have overthrown our government and forcibly set a king over us to rule. We have had no say in this matter, and we have not been given a voice since. It's clear that Team Plasma and N plan to rule with an iron fist and take away all freedoms that we have previously enjoyed. This is unacceptable and I refuse to let Team Plasma get away this violation of individual rights.

"I know that many of you are confused by Zekrom's appearance and may even think that this is the gods will that we now be ruled by a king, but this isn't true. Remember the ancient Legend of the Original Tao Dragon. Unova was first founded by a Queen who sided with the Tao Dragon and helped first form Unova and create a society of peace, but her descendants were not so kind. They began to oppress their people and assert their power and dominance over them. The heir to the throne was just like his father. He believed that this was how the world should be run and that his subjects were less than him, but his brother believed in a better world where the people had a voice in the government. This division caused the Tao Dragon to divide into three separate beings with Reshiram siding with the heir and Zekrom siding with the brother. Together Zekrom and the brother were able to establish a new form of government. Although the brothers ended up destroying each other, the people took the lesson to heart and created a democracy and a structure that has carried and been refined through time and is what we have today. Zekrom may have sided with N now, but that doesn't mean the society the original brother built was wrong. Team Plasma has been lying to us from the beginning, I wouldn't be surprised if they lied to the god Zekrom of their intentions. Either way, we can not let Team Plasma get away with this. Unovans I ask you to band together, to fight to Team Plasma. Perhaps you cannot fight them physically, but do not conform to their words. Argue, and think for yourself. I am going to stand with my fellow trainers to fight against them. I can only ask for your prayers and support to carry us through with our attack.

"Now N and the seven Sages. This is for you. You attacked my home. You hurt and imprisoned my friends. It's only fair that we do the same to you! Get ready because here we come!"

And with that Ghetsis looked up from his phone when he heard a giant explosion coming from outside the gates leading into Plasma manor. He ran over to the windowsill and saw that a Druddigon had broken down the gates and a bunch of trainers were flooding in with their Pokemon to attack.

* * *

I was amazed by how many trainers Iris had been able to gather in the short time before we attacked Plasma HQ. Granted most of them were young inexperienced trainers who had gone into hiding before Plasma attacked, but still. She had also been able to call some Whisperers and get their help.

We ran into the gardens in front of the fancy mansion while a bunch of guards came out to battle us. Luckily, we had caught Team Plasma completely off guard. Most of their forces were in other places around the Region with only a few of the weaker ones left to guard the manor. At least that's what I thought until we got closer.

When we got closer, I saw two eerily familiar looking faces. When I saw they had a Lucario and Froakie at their side, I realized that it was them. The ones who took N all those years ago. I also saw the two red heads from before now decked out in knight costumes making them look even more intimidating. They sent out their Pokemon and I was glad that we had Iris with us because their Pokemon looked super strong. The other Whisperers and I stood together to fight as our Pokemon ran towards the Lucario and Froakie. I saw Nightstar run straight for the Froakie and use spark on it.

I didn't have time to worry about it too much as I turned to concentrate on the Pokemon. The Plasma Whisperers were really strong. They made Iris' Druddigon hesitate before attacking the ginger's Weavile and that allowed it to get in an ice punch which sent Druddigon flying. I'd never experienced this before. Fighting against another Whisperer's commands to get a Pokemon to do what you wanted. It was almost like a force of will between us, but the Plasma Whisperers were much more experienced at this than I was. Luckily, there were other Whisperers to help me. Otherwise I wouldn't have stood a chance.

I see Ghetsis run out along with Rood and a whole lot of Plasma guards. When he sees us, he just laughs, "this is your resistance, girl? It looks more like you asked a bunch of teenagers come and fight with you."

Iris gives him her most winning smile and said, "Why Ghetsis that is exactly what I did!" Ghetsis looks bewildered by her response and Iris continues before pointing behind him: "that's our real resistance!"

Behind him came three figures with red, blue, and green hair who I can only assume are the Striaton Gym Leaders Iris talked to. They summon their Pokemon and begin to battle, easily wiping out over half their guards with all eighteen of their combined Pokemon. But even their Pokemon started to struggle with the number of Pokemon they had to fight.

I was starting to feel a headache and my knees started to shake a little. This was much harder than I ever thought it would be. I focused and tried to help Blade win a battle against a Vanillish, but I couldn't keep the focus and an ice beam took out Blade.

Suddenly I heard a boy yell, "um guys, big black dragon coming our way with a bunch of lightning shooting out of its tail!"

"It's over," Ghetsis roared, "your pathetic attempt to stop us has come to an end."

"It's just beginning," Iris said with a grin.

Suddenly the wall in the front top of the mansion exploded and out soared a beautiful white Pokemon that sent a fireball towards Zekrom. "Reshiram!" I and several other people yelled. The white dragon swooped out and circled around our little group and suddenly a flash of light appeared and two familiar blond and pink haired girls appeared next to Iris, each of their arms looped around Gardevoir who had apparently teleported them here.

"Anthea and Concordia!" I say excitedly.

Anthea looks over and smiles at me, but Concordia takes out a small rod that expands into a long fighting stick and glares at Ghetsis and says, "I've waited a long time for this. I refuse to let you control us or N anymore!"

Ghetsis glares at them before roaring, "kill the traitors!"

Faster then I can react, Concordia swings her rod around and strikes the three ninjas that had apparently surrounded them while remaining invisible. "You're going to have to do better than that."

Concordia then turns to her Gardevoir who I remember was named Grace and said, "lend me your psychic strength." She takes Anthea's hand as well and all three of them start to glow a faint blue.

The two of them say, "Reshiram, Fusion Flare" and Reshiram immediately attacks Zekrom with a flash of fire.

"You won't win you stupid fools!" Ghetsis roared at the two of them, "N is more powerful than you both."

I then hear a feminine voice in my head saying, 'Ivory. This is Concordia. Ghetsis is right, we won't be able to hold N off for much longer, we can already feel him drawing his power back from us and using it against Reshiram. Reshiram will soon no longer obey our commands, we have a hard-enough time controlling her as it is because she knows we are handmaidens and not of the true lineage.'

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I just kind of went with it and said, 'what can we do?'

'I'm trying to reach into N's mind and convince him what he's doing is wrong, but he's blocked his mind off from us. I have felt his mind though and I believe that he may still listen to you. Grace, use teleport.'

Immediately the Gardevoir steps away from the two and grabs me. I have a sudden sensation of emptiness and weightlessness when I suddenly appear in a grand room with a hole blasted through it. 'this must have been where Concordia and Anthea summoned Reshiram… it kind of looks like a throne room.'

Grace disappears again and then reappears, but this time she is holding a boy who she unceremoniously drops to the floor before disappearing again. I look at the boy and my heart flutters, "…N" I breath.

**A/N: So, I love N's castle rising up from the ground and surrounding the Pokemon League, but I have no idea how they pulled that off. The Pokemon League is basically the White House and I don't see them just letting a bunch of construction workers come in and build. Anyway, they still have a really nice mansion that's basically like a castle.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Above the two deities continued to spiral around each other and battle, hitting each other with either lightning or fire. Each time the lightning struck Reshiram, Concordia and Anthea were struck with pain. They were losing the fight and badly. Zekrom easily outmaneuvered Reshiram and struck her rapidly with his lightning attacks while Reshiram's fire missed almost every time.

Concordia tried to ignore the pain ripping at her mind as she struggled to maintain the link between her and Reshiram while at the same time trying to reach out to N. Concordia could feel Reshiram's disdain for her when she saw how weak she was and not even a Whisperer to boot.

Normally, Reshiram would have incinerated any fool that tried to summon her, but she had felt a familiar power that she hadn't felt since her old ally, King Bartholomew, had wielded in the ancient days. She had chosen to respond to that power and come to her full power, but now she felt that power begin to drain from the girls and to come more and more from the child that her brother Zekrom listened to.

"_You fight for such weak fools_," Zekrom taunted her, "_you've grown weak in your time in hibernation. I'll admit that I'm a little disappointed in you."_

Reshiram angrily launched at him with a dragon claw, but Zekrom quickly dodged it. _"They all believe that they are doing what's right."_

"_Oh please. These humans last only for a few moments in our lifetimes. Their silly wars and politics are almost a joke to creatures such as you and I."_

"_Well you're here, too_," Reshiram grumbled.

_"You know why I'm here. Surely you felt that power as well. It was just like in ancient times. They have returned. It's been such a long time since I've felt their presence that of course I decided to come. It's probably why you're here too, but you're on the wrong side… again. The child's power enhances my own. I don't honestly care what the boy wants as long as I get a taste of that power and increase my dominion. If he wishes to rule these tiny creatures, then I don't see the problem in that. These parasites were meant to be ruled anyway. Who knows why Arceus created them and seems to enjoy their presence."_

"_My little pets seemed to have taken yours from off your back. Whatever will you do now that he's not there?"_

Zekrom glanced behind him and saw that N was no longer there. _"No matter. After I defeat you, I'm sure I'll find him. Or better yet, we could both go together."_

Reshiram hesitated and glanced down at the battling humans. She never understood why some of her brothers and sisters liked the creatures. They were always fighting or moaning about one problem or another, and before she could even be slightly interested in one, it died. She knew that Jirachi enjoyed granting them wishes and Mew enjoyed teasing them, but she could never understand why. They were weak and pathetic. Just like this battle. Why did they care so much about who ruled over them? Did it matter who had the power? They were all going to die soon anyway. Why not come with her brother and have her own power advanced. These humans were nothing anyway so why shouldn't she just leave. She felt a slight desperate tug in her mind from one of her pets, but she easily ignored it. Why spend time with the charlatans that pretended to have the ancient power when she could spend it with the real one?

Reshiram looked over at Zekrom before saying, "_Yes, I will come with you_."

* * *

"It's too late Ivory," N said as he stretched his arms out and stared at the two dragons flying overhead, "Reshiram has decided to join me."

He didn't have to tell me- I could see it. The Red Aura that had once glowed around him was now joined with a bluish tint that shifted the bright red to that of a more purple color. I had followed him to look out the hole and I saw that the dragons were no longer fighting, just circling each other.

"N…," I say quietly, "please stop."

N glanced at me and he smirked, "Why on earth would I do that? Team Plasma, my only true family, is about to create the world I've dreamed about. Not that you really care do you Ivory?" N says as he turned to glare at me, "I'm surprised you're here. Wasn't the last thing you said: 'I never want to see you again?' Well, my apologies Ivory, we saw each other, but the door's over there and you can leave at any time."

I felt as if he had just physically slapped me. 'I did say that though,' Ivory thought, 'those stupid Shadow Triad. No wonder they made me do that, now N doesn't want to listen to any of his old friends and especially not me.' I walked forward a little and I see N stiffen. "N…" I say slowly. 'What should I say? Your dad is psychotic and made me say those things to you?' "N… I want to apologize."

N snorted and said, "it's a little too late for that. Did you know I almost told you everything? About all this, about Team Plasma's plans, but you wouldn't even listen to me. Now, what do you want to say? 'I'm sorry?' Well that doesn't make up for making me feel the way I did about you when you apparently never loved me," when he says this I hear his voice crack and tears form in his eyes, but he quickly looks away, "Why did you do it Ivory? Why did you string me along for so long? And why are you here now? Are you suddenly impressed that I'm now king of Unova?" he scoffs at this and says, "…no Ivory. I know you're not like that. You're here to make me stop Unova from falling into Team Plasma's hands, but it's not going to work. I swore an oath that I would do this. Do yourself a favor and go home. You can even join Team Plasma if you want. The other Whisperers all really like you. You'll adjust quickly to Team Plasma's new regime."

"N… you're wrong," I said, "I didn't come here because I wanted to gain your favor… and you know what I didn't even come here to try and stop you." I surprised myself and N when I had said this. I had literally just barged into Plasma grounds with the League to stop them, but I realized I had mainly done that to see N, to save him, but not from this new government he was trying to create. "I came to first apologize for not being stronger. This is an apology I've wanted to truly make ever since we first met. I'm sorry that I didn't stay when those Whisperers took you in Discordian Wood. I was a coward and I was saving myself. Now I want to apologize to you for doing the exact same thing six years later."

I have N's full attention now and I walk over and take his hands into my own. I'm surprised that he lets me. I continue, "N… The Shadow Triad made me choose between breaking up with you or saving Bianca's life. I chose Bianca. It broke my heart to lie to you and break both our hearts that night in Milstraton, but to be honest I would have done it again if it meant saving Bianca's life. What I am here to apologize about is that I didn't have the courage to go against Ghetsis and Team Plasma afterwards. It was Black who told us we needed to be brave and talk to the League. I was willing to just go back home and hide. I'm sorry for being a coward. I'm sorry that I'm not the hero that I should be," N looks shocked by everything I've told him and it looks like he's about to say something when I continue, "N… even though I'm a coward… and you probably hate me… I still love you. I love you more than I could possibly put into words! I don't care that you've gone and overthrown the government or that you're now the King of Team Plasma and Unova. All I care about is you N. My N who I played with in the woods, my N that loves Pokemon and will play pranks with Trixie, my N who is brave, my N who found me when no one else did. I love you N."

Suddenly N has his arms wrapped around me and he gently kisses me and says, "I love you too. I thought you hated me… thank you for loving me." I wrap my arms around him and lean my head against his chest and wish this could last forever.

"N," I say as I lean back and look at him, "I'm also here to save you."

N looked at me in confusion and said, "from what?"

"Your father. He's using you to take over Unova… he used the Shadow Triad to control you and threaten me and Bianca. They said they would kill our families if we said anything about this to you."

N shook his head before saying, "the Shadow Triad will be punished, but my father's goals are pure. We will make a new Unova just like he and my mother dreamed of! His methods may be a little unorthodox, but I trust him. He is my father after all."

N looked at me with such pure and innocent eyes that I was almost willing to forgive Ghetsis, but then I said, "what kind of father keeps his son's closest friends and practically sisters as servants?" While our minds had been melded, I had gotten some insight into Concordia's mind and I saw that for the past few years they had been treated like dirt. I persisted and said, "what kind of man and leader needs to use fear to get what he wants? What kind of father manipulates his own son to get him what he wants?" N looks hurt, but he glances down because he knows it's all true. "Answer me honestly now N. When Unova is established will it be you or him who rules Unova?"

N glances away and says, "he will, but just until I'm old enough to take the throne and more fully understand the politics of leading a country."

I stare at N and say, "will he liberate the Pokemon? How many Pokemon have thanked you for being freed? I've seen the footage N. Trainers release their Pokemon and then Team Plasma snatches them up. Ghetsis is keeping all the Pokemon for himself so that the people can't fight against him. You're not even allowing the people of Unova to choose whether they want to establish a monarchy or not. The only world you're creating is a reign of terror where people are too afraid to act out or speak against Team Plasma. Just think about how open the League was to Team Plasma's views. Do you think the same courtesy will be extended to people who like the League?"

"But the League's wrong!"

"Then let the people decide that for themselves! You can't tell them what's good and bad. People need to find out for themselves and not have someone force them to believe it. You can't manipulate people's hearts by using Zekrom and pure force. That's the definition of tyranny! You're not making a utopia; you're making a dystopia! Instead of making equal rights for both people and Pokemon, you've taken peoples freedom and giving it to only a few. The few in power doesn't even include yourself! It's the Sages. They've just been using you to get what they want which is power. They act like they care about Pokemon, but they're really the worst of them all because they took something good, equal rights for Pokemon, and changed it into a method of taking over the government!"

N looks shocked about what I've said, but I can see that he recognizes the truth of what I'm saying, "but Team Plasma, our goals-"

"They don't exist anymore thanks to the Seven Sages. Team Plasma was wonderful, but now it's the new secret police used to keep the people in line. That's the final tragedy of what's happened: they truly destroyed all of Team Plasma's ideals."

N looks away with hurt and says, "What have I done? How could I have been so stupid?"

"We were all fooled," I say quietly, "What matters is what we do now."

N once again looks out the hole at the fighting people below. He glances up at the sky at the circling dragons above. It looks like he's almost speaking with the deities for a moment. I see an almost subtle nod from Zekrom when N says, "Reshiram, Fusion Flare," and with that the white dragon springs higher into the air and sends the black one crashing to the ground in a swirl of fire. Zekrom lands and creates a crater on impact while Reshiram roars in triumph, symbolically signaling the king's defeat and the League's triumph. Reshiram then swooped over to the other trainers and stood by them and roared menacingly at Team Plasma.

I see N slump a little from the exertion of that command, but I quickly catch him and smile up into his eyes before coming up on my toes and kissing him.

* * *

N and I sit around on the floor in the throne room while I curl up next to him and he quietly strokes my hair. "Were you going to give audience to people in this room or what because there's seriously nothing in here besides a chair."

N laughs and says, "honestly I don't know why we have this room. I was only in here when I was crowned king and then I never came back."

"Why the robes and why the knights? That just seems weird."

"Well I definitely agree that the robes were awful. They were so scratchy and uncomfortable. I told my father after I had summoned Zekrom and battled the League that I never wanted to wear them again. He agreed if I would still wear something nice at any ceremonies and official events. The knights were to symbolically show that we were bringing back the old and "better" ways to Unova by having a Whisperer lead the Region once again."

"Huh… well I'm kind of sad I didn't see you in person all dressed up like a king. It looked kind of sexy."

"I still have the crown if you want me to wear it."

"Nah… I like you just the way you are. I would have probably thrown it off when I kissed you."

"If I had won with an intact Team Plasma, I would have thrown off your trainer cap before I kissed you."

"If it had been a fair fight, and Reshiram would have listened to me, I would have total beaten you!"

"Hmm… either way, it would have ended like this," he says as he softly puts his hand on my cheek and kisses me deeply.

Just then the doors swing open to the throne room and Ghetsis walks in. Both of us turn bright red and untangle ourselves from each other and stand up. Even though I'm blushing, I yell over at Ghetsis, "shouldn't you be under arrest or something?"

N just looks down in shame as Ghetsis slowly walks over to us. He completely ignores me and walks straight over to N. "You had Reshiram defeat Zekrom," Ghetsis said flatly. 'Well I guess there's no fooling him,' I think bitterly. "You betrayed all of Team Plasma, the people you swore to protect and lead, and for what? A stupid girl."

N looked up and glared at Ghetsis, "I'm not the one who betrayed Team Plasma! We were meant to protect Pokemon and create a new world for them, not just install a dictatorship! There is no Team Plasma thanks to you and the other Sages. I had nothing to betray."

Ghetsis looked at N for a moment before slapping him so hard that N falls to the floor and an angry red mark appears on his cheek. "What in Giratina's name is wrong at you!" I scream and am about to run over to N when Ghetsis grabs and twists my arm before throwing me across the room.

"I am the one who created Team Plasma! Not you! Team Plasma's whole purpose was to overthrow the League and establish myself as the new leader of Unova, and you, you pathetic, lovesick child, were supposed to be my weapon for obtaining that. I spent years trying to find you and the only thing I asked in return from you was that you help me in my ambitions to rule Unova, but you betrayed me- just like your mother did."

N's eyes widen as he looked up at Ghetsis and said, "What? I-I thought that-"

"When she found out about Plasma's ultimate goals, she decided to take you and those two wretched girls and her maid with her as she fled Team Plasma. We found her, but you three escaped while she ordered Shadow and Ivana to kill her so that I wouldn't be able to use her for her powers. When I brought you back, I thought if I didn't let you stray too far, I could grant you some minor freedoms. My mistake, and one that I won't let happen again." He then brought out a pokeball and released a Cofagrigus and said, "Cofagrigus, bind the freak." Immediately the Cofagrigus' shadowy hands wrapped around N and lifted him up.

"You may have humiliated Team Plasma with Zekrom's idiotic defeat, but that doesn't mean Team Plasma is defeated. If we can't use you as our king then we'll use you to control the Legendries. Cofagrigus use Psychic." N then starts writhing and screaming in pain as the psychic move takes effect.

I run over to N and look at Cofagrigus to stop it, but nothing happens. That's when I feel a dark chill run through me. There's something very wrong with this Pokemon. It doesn't react to me and I don't feel anything coming from him. "What's wrong with this Pokemon," I demanded.

"I've surgically modified all my Pokemon so that they no longer have access to certain parts of their cerebrum that Whisperers access when they connect with them. Now they are aggressive and only listen to my orders. If they were to be released, they would kill everything in their path."

"In other words, you removed their souls. I didn't think you could get any more messed up, and that's with you torturing your own son!"

"When you work around Whisperers your whole life, you must find some way to be able to control them when they get out of line. It cost me my eye and damaged my arm, but it was worth it."

At this point N had stopped screaming and I looked back to see his head drop forward, but the Cofagrigus continued to hold him. "And now for you. I should have done this a long time ago. Hydreigon go use dragon pulse and kill her!"

Ghetsis released the Hydreigon who immediately reared its head and opened its mouth and sent a blast of light and energy directly towards me. I close my eyes and prepare for the worst when I hear the blast, but all feel is the wind that blasts me from the attack. I open my eyes and see that Hydreigon had not hit me but Nightstar who now lay lifelessly on the ground.

"Nightstar!" I scream and rush down to the floor to grab him, "Nightstar! No! Please Nighstar you can't be dead!" I say as I start sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't worry. You'll be joining it soon enough," Ghetsis said and is about to say something else, but then the doors open, and Black runs in with Cheren and Bianca.

"Get the Distortion World away from my sister!" Black roars as he sends out all his Pokemon to fight.

Ghetsis laughs, "you children are no match for me. I've trained these Pokemon for years and you've only trained them for less than a year. You're no threat to me."

"Yeah, well prove it."

Ghetsis smirks and sends out the rest of his Pokemon. Hydreigon flies over while Cofagrigus drops N and moves to fight. Cheren also releases his Pokemon and they begin to battle. Ghetsis released the rest of his Pokemon from their pokeballs revealing a Bouffalant, a Seismitoad, a Bisharp, and an Elektross. Without hesitating he roared, "Hydreigon use surf." Immediately the large black and blue dragon generates a large amount of water which it promptly thrusts towards all of Black and Cheren's Pokemon causing them to crash against the walls of the throne room. The wave of water didn't just end with slamming against the Pokemon, it also hit Black, Cheren, and Bianca which promptly drenched them and sent them crashing to the floor.

Black got up and yelled to his Altaria, "Serenity, use dragon pulse!"

Cheren simultaneously called, "Gwen use leaf blade." Both Serenity and Gwen struggled to get up after the heavy attack and moved to attack the flying Hydreigon. Gwen slashed at the Hydreigon while Serenity hit it dead on with pulse of energy. The Hydreigon was pushed back a little ways, but it barely even seemed affected by the two attacks.

"Is that all?" Ghetsis asked dryly. "And to think I thought you'd be more of a challenge. Now Elektross and Bouffalant use wild charge but direct all your electricity to the water on the floor." I look at the floor in horror when I realize what Ghetsis is doing. He had soaked all of the Pokemon and Black, Cheren, and Bianca in water and the water from Hydreigon's surf was on the ground connecting them all. If he electrocuted the water, he would electrocute them all.

"No!" I screamed, but it was too late. The Elektross hit the ground with a blast of electric energy. Fortunately, Gwen had turned around and used vine whip which smacked both Cheren and Black together as she wrapped one of her vines around them while the other encircled Bianca and lifted them from the ground as the attack hit. It was heart wrenching to hear the Pokemon cry in pain as the attack hit and sent a wave of electricity through all of them. I hear Bianca, Cheren, and Black scream in pain as well since they feel the milder shock coming from Gwen's vines.

Gwen drops Black, Cheren, and Bianca to the floor in exhaustion after getting such a tremendous hit from all the electricity. It's terrible to see in that one hit alone, Ghetsis had taken down nearly all twelve of their combined Pokemon. The only that had escaped was Evan, Cheren's Unfezant, and Serenity who had flown out of the water and the electric attacks range. Unfortunately, Ghetsis simply ordered his Hydreigon and Bisharp to attack them which easily took them both down.

"Such a pathetic display of resistance," Ghetsis sneered. "Now I'll finish you all. Hydreigon use dragon pulse on the three trainers and Bisharp," he said as he glanced over at me and gave me a sick, twisted smile, "use x-scissors on the girl."

"I won't let you hurt them," N said as he struggled to his feet and moved to attack Ghetsis. I watched as he closed his eyes and began to focus when I saw the faint hues of the blue aura of Reshiram begin to encompass him once more.

"Cofagrigus use psychic once more," Ghetsis ordered. N again cried out in pain and the blue light immediately faded to nothing. Ghetsis smirked and said sarcastically, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I break your precious concentration that you need when connecting to the Legendaries?" He turned away from N and said to the Cofagrigus, "if he tries anything else use psychic again and bind him."

The doors opened once more, but this time Iris, Concordia, and Anthea ran inside. Concordia and Anthea's eyes widen in horror when they see N being attacked by the Cofagrigus and Concordia immediately yells "Angela use dark pulse on the Cofagrigus." The Gothitelle by Anthea's side immediately sprung to action and sent a pulse of dark energy towards the Cofagrigus while a small dark puff ball that was Trixie also bounded through the doors and used a move which sent out a large amount of dark energy. The Cofagrigus cried out in pain and N collapsed to his knees.

While this was all happening, Iris had noticed the attacks Ghetsis' Bisharp and Hydreigon were about to use and she quickly threw out her own Pokemon. She called, "Drake use focus blast on the Bisharp and Emma use ice beam on the Hydreigon!" Immediately Iris' Druddigon attacked the Bisharp while her Lapras attacked the Hydreigon which sent the Bisharp crashing to the floor while Hydreigon rammed into the ceiling.

Ghetsis gave a guttural growl as he turned to Iris and roared, "Bouffalant use head charge."

"Drake use focus blast once more on the Bouffalant." I was surprised how fast the Druddigon could move. It leapt from where we were by the throne with enough force that it broke the smooth marble with its feet and attacked the Bouffalant before it got anywhere near Iris and her Pokemon.

Concordia ordered Grace to attack the Seismitoad while Iris ordered the rest of her Pokemon to attack Ghetsis' remaining Pokemon. I watched in satisfaction as slowly every one of his Pokemon went down first with his Bouffalant and then finally ending with his fiercest Pokemon, Hydreigon, who eventually collapsed after a vicious dragon tail from Iris' Hydreigon.

"No!" Ghetsis roared, "I can't lose. I've worked too hard for this! My plan was perfect! I am perfect, I AM PERFECTION!"

"Ghetsis Harmonia," Iris called as she withdrew most of her Pokemon except her Druddgion who stood loyally at her side. "By order of the Unova League you are under arrest for high treason."

"And for kidnapping, threatening, child abuse, attempted murder, and for being an all-around horrible person," Bianca, who had shakily gotten up from the ground along with Black and Cheren, added.

Ghetsis glared at all of them before saying, "you may have won this time, but there is so much more to Team Plasma than what you've seen. We'll rise again and this time we will show no mercy when we send a wave of destruction through all of Unova. Unovans will live in fear of Team Plasma and rue this day. The day when they defied my authority."

"Shut up," Iris growled, "you have no authority and you never will." With that, Druddigon walked up to Ghetsis and roared.

Concordia said smugly, "he says 'walk or I'll drag you out.'"

Ghetsis glowered for a moment, but then he turned to look at Anthea, Concordia, and N to say, "this day will haunt you for the rest of your lives no matter how short they may be. You will regret ever defying me," and then he looked directly at N and said, "there will be no rock or forest or Pokemon that you can hide behind where I can't find you. You will beg me for my forgiveness, but I don't give second chances." With his threats made, he sullenly walked out of the room with Druddigon close behind him.

I still hadn't moved from where I had sat and was looking down at Nightstar's still body. Anthea walked over to me and said, "may I," I handed Nightstar over to her without saying anything. She held Nightstar for a moment and closed her eyes, "it's not too late," she said, "he can still be saved." Her hands and eyes began glowing a soft pink light as she looked intently at Nightstar for several seconds. Finally, Nightstar began to stir and he looked over at me.

"Nightstar!" I screamed happily as I scooped him in my arms and held him tightly, "Thank you! Thank you!"

Anthea smiled as she stood and went over to walk to where Concordia and N were. The two girls both hugged N and N hugged them back. Bianca, Black, and Cheren ran over to me and hugged me and said "we were so worried about you! I can't believe we didn't die! We did it!" all at once.

"I'm really sorry to do this," Iris says quietly, "but N Harmonia you're under arrest as well."

I felt myself freeze and I say, "Wait you can't be serious. N helped stop the fighting and besides it was Ghetsis that was behind everything!"

Iris looked at me sadly and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. N summoned a Legendary and attacked the Pokemon League." She looked pointedly at N and said, "can you honestly tell me that you had no idea what you were doing when you destroyed half the Pokemon League, dragged the League members off in chains, and helped Team Plasma 'liberate' the Pokemon from various cities and towns?" N said nothing and Iris turned back to me and said, "I'm sorry Ivory, but N had every intent to bring down the League and to be honest I have no idea why he changed his mind about that."

"Because Ghetsis was actually a sick twisted monster that just wanted to take over Unova so that he could rule as a tyrant! He destroyed what Team Plasma represented and-"

"Ivory. Stop. Listen to what you're saying. N stopped because his father was corrupt, not because he agreed or supported the League. He stopped not because he didn't want to overthrow the government, but because the new government wouldn't create the world _he_ wanted. That's still high treason and he has to be punished by law."

"But-"

"It's alright Ivory," N says to me gently. "This was always going to happen."

He steps away from his sisters, but instead of compliantly walking over to where Iris stood, he stepped away from us all and pulled out a pokeball and released an Abra. Trixie ran over and jumped on his shoulder. He looked at me and then at his sisters before saying, "I'm sorry, but I won't be anyone's puppet anymore. Not my father's and certainly not the League's." He then looked at me sadly one last time before saying, "goodbye," and with a sudden flash, he, Trixie, and the Abra were gone.

"N!" I yell, but it's far too late. He's gone… possibly forever.

**A/N: Yay! The finale! The League wins and Team Plasma falls. I was thinking about making Black, Cheren, and Bianca the ones that stop Ghetsis, but in my fanfic they only got to the sixth Gym and wouldn't have had enough experience to stop him. Also, Ghetsis sucks! Thanks to everyone who's read and to those that have reviewed! Thanks for putting up with my bad grammar and any confusing plot holes. **

**I'm thinking about making a sequel, so if you would like to read it, let me know in the reviews! Thanks for reading!**


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue:

The days have passed in a blur. I'm back home now with mom and dad and Black. I cried when I came back to Nuvema town for the first time and I broke down sobbing when I met my parents. My mom had just held me in her arms and said nothing while Black explained everything that had happened to us. Dad just looked shocked and Mom looked like she was angry that all this had happened to us.

The United Regions and the other champions had come and helped us take down all the remaining fractions of Team Plasma that still infested our streets. It wasn't very hard, without Ghetsis they had no leadership and without N they had no real means of defense against international League members and Champions. The League members were all reinstated and they started to get things back to normal. The day we had defeated Team Plasma was announced to be a Regional holiday and we had all received medals of honor.

Unfortunately, the six Sages had disappeared along with the Shadow Triad. That's what scared me the most… that they would come here in the middle of the night at some point and slash all our throats, but nothing had happened. The only good thing was that Ghetsis was arrested along with several of his admins including the gingers who I had learned were named Alex and Jenna along with the two Whisperers named Peter and Jackson.

And N… well no one had heard anything about N. Several police officers, including Detective Looker had swung by asking me a lot of questions and even some highly personal ones, but I wasn't able to give them any leads. I was sad and happy about that at the same time. N… I missed him so much, but I also didn't want him to have to go to jail. The League had told me that they were trying to find N for his own protection, but at the same time I just wished N could finally be free of everyone. I sometimes imagined he would come on his Zekrom and take me away with him, but I hadn't heard anything from him.

With N gone and the battle won, Reshiram and Zekrom had both returned to their stone forms and were taken by the Pokemon League. Anthea had told me that both Reshiram and Zekrom had said that they hoped N would return. She said that Zekrom had especially been worried because Anthea and Concordia weren't with him and that apparently a "king of the ancient lineage should not be away from the protection of his bonded ones." That made sense to me now because Concordia had explained where she, Anthea, and N had all originally come from. It seemed like a myth… and it honestly kind of is.

Cheren had come out of all this the least affected. He hadn't known N and he never had liked Team Plasma or really known about what was happening until he joined us in Opelucid city. Bianca was devastated by N leaving and would sometimes try and think up of crazy ways to contact him. When she handed me my pokejournal, she also handed me the pokejournal she had made for N. They were both full of pictures of us travelling through Unova together. "Remember that time we thought super evil Team Plasma members were drug dealers?" or fun pictures of us when we were travelling down routes. N talking to Bianca's Pokemon. I blushed when I saw the picture of me and N snuggled up together on the bus to Nimbasa City. Pictures of us wandering through Chargestone Cave and the caption "it's all fun until your friend's ninja bodyguards come and threaten to kill you." I'm shocked when I find that she actually took a picture of the final battle between us and Team Plasma. "You took a picture!"

"It's an important historical document!"

Then there's one last picture of me and N together with the caption "When you convinced the King of Unova that friendship is magic and that you have to believe in the power of love." I actually laugh at this and say, "because that's how you solve all the world's problems."

"Yeah in N's caption I said 'The world or Ivory, the world or Ivory? Definitely Ivory,' with the words 'good choice' written below it. I hope he likes it."

I hesitate before saying quietly, "do you really think we'll ever see him again?"

Bianca leaned on my shoulder and said, "I have to believe that I will. Maybe with more time… I can admit that N's gone for good, but for now I kind of think I will."

"How can you be so hopeful," I ask.

"Um… because he has a huge bounty on his head by the League for taking him in alive and they've assigned some seriously awesome Pokemon Masters to go look for him. I kind of think they'll capture him and then we can visit him! It'll be in prison, but still."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I'll probably see him too."

* * *

"Sages what will we do now that Ghetsis is imprisoned and N has fled?"

"We've always been prepared for failure. The League still has no idea about the Plasma Frigate, Kyurem, or our secret research facilities. Ghetsis will soon be free and we will use the power of the Legendaries to conquer Unova, but this time we will instill fear instead of hope in these people."

"But sir! When the Plasma mansion was attacked, the League tore it apart including our old lab where they found the DNA splicers! The Shadow Triad say that they've been entrusted to Gym Leader Drayden… he's the strongest of all the Gym Leaders! And what about… N. He's the only one with the power to actually control the Legendaries."

"I didn't say that this would be easy, I just said we would be able to reclaim Unova for ourselves. Team Plasma's name has been tarnished thanks to N's betrayal and the League's scathing reports, which only makes it harder to gather followers and gain support. We will have to be aggressive this time in our approach and attack without mercy or sympathy for the citizens. In regard to the DNA splicers, we'll just have to find a way to distract Drayden and draw him away from wherever he's guarding them. As for N, we have already set a plan into motion to draw him out, and when he does, he'll be ours once again. We'll have to call in several of our admins that didn't work in the public light for Team Plasma, but that shouldn't be a problem for them."

"Yes Sages, but I worry N's betrayal has run deep within Team Plasma. We've lost almost all our Whisperers because of it and many formerly loyal Team Plasma members have started deserting and telling the League some of our secrets."

"Then I guess we should teach them a little lesson, shouldn't we?"

* * *

"Give me one good reason I should help you, N Harmonia," the man sneered at the green haired boy.

"I assume that you would want to be paid handsomely for providing me this service," N said softly as he brought out an arrangement of evolutionary stones and even an amulet coin. "These stones will make you very rich and this amulet coin will make it so that with every sell you make, you'll get even more money than you normally would."

"Nice… but kid you've got to know how much _you_ are worth. The League's reward for your capture is through the roof and even the reward for information that leads to your capture is high. In the black market, you're easily worth even more. A kid that can summon Legendaries and control them is not something that people just walk away from. Every crime syndicate will be looking for you and I doubt I need to tell you that Team Rocket would love to get their hands on you and use you. Not only would you be an extremely valuable asset, you'll be an example for all other organizations of what happens when you interfere with Team Rocket's business. You're surrounded by enemies, kid. Do yourself a favor and turn yourself over to the League."

"I won't be anyone's puppet! That's why I came to you to provide me with a change of identity so that no one will know who I am. I thought you could maybe fake my death or something and then give me a new name that I could live under."

"As an ex-Team Rocket member, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the criminal underworld, and I can tell you that none of them will believe it unless they see your cold lifeless body in front of them. The League probably won't believe it either."

"There must be something you can do," N said softly, "name your price."

The man sighed and said, "no… look I think you should turn yourself into the League."

N glowered and said, "why? To be a puppet in security and nice clothes-I've already had that."

"Hear me out. Yes, you're right in assuming that the League won't just toss you in jail and give you a chance to get out early on good behavior and good lawyers. Whisperers aren't usually kept in jail because their talents are so valuable that the League typically makes them wear tracking bracelets and keeps them in highly secure facilities where they can be monitored."

"I'd be given one as well, without the chance of ever having it removed," N said quietly.

"…yes. You'd probably always be highly monitored by the League and you'd most likely be sent to a lab where they'd study you. I know it sounds awful, but it's better than what the crime organizations would do to you to make you do what they wanted. But here's where the League isn't so bad. They'd let you have a life. To a certain degree. You'd probably always have friends who secretly worked for the League, but you could meet a nice girl and have a family. You wouldn't have to constantly watch your back because the League would do that for you. It's really the best deal for you and your only chance at a relatively normal life. Well as normal as it could ever get for a person like you."

N hesitated as he thought about Ivory. 'It really wouldn't be that bad… I could live in Nuvema town by the lab. The League wouldn't even have to send in spies to monitor me because Black was planning on joining the League by becoming a Pokemon Master and Bianca was going to study to become a Professor. We could be friends again.' It was so tempting that N felt as if he wanted to agree and turn out the doors now and run to the nearest Gym '…but I would never be free.' N still disagreed with much of what the League represented and stood for. By being taken into their custody, N would lose his freedom to say whatever he wished, to speak against the League, and of course, any attempts to change it would not be tolerated by the League. He would also never be treated as a normal person. Even Ivory sometimes found it difficult to be a Pokemon Whisperer. The League would allow him to return, but only as a chained and muzzled citizen that did what they wanted him to.

Then… there was Ivory herself. N loved her and would give anything to be with her for the rest of his life, but he was fully aware of how society viewed him. The League and even other criminal organizations saw him as a puppet, but the other citizens saw him as the boy who tried to take over Unova by force. They saw him as a threat and most citizens hated him. If he married Ivory, then her name would be tarnished along with his. Then there was the matter of children… he had decided that he never wanted to have children. He didn't want any child of his being born with the gifts that he had. He didn't even really want to adopt… he worried that he might end up being just like his own father with his children. How could he ask Ivory to make that sort of sacrifice? She might not care now since they were both young, but what about in ten years? Would she feel the same? She deserved so much more than him. Him leaving would allow her to move on with her life and find a man that would keep her safe and not be the one bringing the danger.

"No," N said firmly. "I've made up my mind."

The man actually looked a little sad before sliding him an envelope. "There's another boy who wishes to disappear. He's about your height and build and only slightly older than you. He said he was willing to have someone take his place so that he could disappear. He does have two parents, but he's old enough to be on his own so you can just live in a different Region and everything should be fine."

"Thank you so much," N said gratefully as he pulled out the other boy's passport and identification.

"You're going to have to get all that crazy green hair chopped off and get a wig to match this kid's hair, but that shouldn't be too bad. You're lucky I like you kid."

"I know," N said with a smile, "I always liked you. You were the best of the informants that Plasma talked to when trying to find Rocket operations. All your Pokemon actually knew who you are rather than just thinking you were the best trainer ever."

The man smiled and said, "Alright, now get out of here before someone sees you. You stand out like a sore thumb with that hair."

N smiled and turned to leave before saying thank you once more. He looked down at the identification card. 'Nate Anderson' it said, and it showed a picture of a boy with crazy brown hair wearing a visor. 'I guess it's time to start my new life as Nate.'

**A/N: So, I decided that I want to make a sequel. I had so much fun writing this story that I decided to keep going with it and see where it takes me. I hope anyone reading this enjoyed the story. A special thanks to everyone who reviewed especially SnowCatt.**

**Thanks to all my readers!**

**Imaginair**


	26. Author's Note

**Author's Note: For anyone that's been following my story and still interested, I'm publishing my sequel Whispers in the Shadow. Again, thanks for reading, and if you want to read what happened, it's in my next story!**


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